RAGE, RAGE AGAINST THE DYING OF TRUST

For decades now, public trust in our public institutions has been fading. It is not okay. It can't be allowed to be okay. We can't be okay with reports that tell us that on any given day fewer than half of citizens trust their government, despite the fact that we live in one of the most remarkably stable, free, democratic and successful places on the planet. 

And when I say "we" I mean all of us as citizens but also all of us who work inside those public institutions. It is easy for us to say people don't trust "government" because they don't trust politicians. And to some extent that's true (although any of us who have worked with elected officials know just how unfair the negative opinion of them really is). But yet another survey on trust in politicians released this week also includes the news that only 36 percent of Canadians trust public servants.

So this isn't just about politics, it's not just about a media culture (social and mainstream) that likes to focus on scandals and conspiracy theories, and it isn't just about changing social attitudes - although surely these and many other factors are all pieces of the problem. There is no single reason for the loss of public trust, and there is no single answer. But there must be a solution and we, to whom these institutions are entrusted, must find it. We must own our share of both the problem and the fix, however complex and uncomfortable it may be. And it will be uncomfortable, and it will take time and focus and resources and probably profound changes to how we do what we do.

The lack of trust doesn't entirely make sense. It's ludicrous that people tend to trust big technology companies and NGOs more than the one institution that actually exists for the sole purpose of representing and protecting the public interest. But trust isn't about logic or rational thought, it's about how people feel. And that people increasingly feel they can't trust us is a serious public policy issue for the public service. It may well be the most serious issue we face. We should treat it that way.

We can no longer pretend it doesn't exist or that it doesn't matter. The time has long passed when we could assume public trust in our work. Indeed, we are now perilously close to a time when we can assume distrust. This is not just "the way it is" - it is actually a serious barrier to our ability to do our jobs successfully. 

The decline in public trust is not entirely ours to solve, nor is it entirely our fault. But it also isn't the public's fault. When someone doesn't trust you, there's something wrong and it isn't good enough to assume it's something wrong with them. As a public servant I swore an oath that, among other things, committed me to enhancing public trust. It's time for all of us to live up to that.