# Quebec's Bureaucratic Challenges: Insights from Former Treasury Board Presidents Former officials analyze the complexities of state efficiency beyond common political clichés. - **Source:** [La Presse](https://www.lapresse.ca) - **Published:** 2026-11-08 - **Topic:** [politics](https://brifing.si/c/politics) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/81e33df6-5571-4041-b029-39d1023a805b ## Beyond Political Clichés Former Quebec Treasury Board presidents Stéphane Bédard and Martin Coiteux challenge the simplistic narrative of cutting state fat. They argue that bureaucracy, defined as unnecessary complications for citizens and businesses, requires nuanced solutions. Rather than quick fiscal fixes, they advocate for long-term structural changes within the complex machinery of government. ## Defining Administrative Efficiency Martin Coiteux emphasizes that reducing the size of the public service should not be the primary objective of reform. Instead, the focus must remain on simplifying interactions between the state and the public. This process involves thousands of individual decisions across various ministries, making it a complex, ongoing administrative challenge. ## Public Service Growth Under recent CAQ governments, Quebec's public service expanded by approximately 17 percent, adding 12,000 full-time employees. Nearly half of these new positions are administrative in nature. This growth highlights the tension between political promises to reduce state size and the practical realities of managing a large, evolving public sector. ## Risks of Attrition Coiteux warns against using staff attrition as a primary tool for budget reduction. Relying on such tactics risks losing essential institutional knowledge held by experienced employees. Effective reform requires mobilizing and motivating the existing workforce rather than working against them, a process that cannot be achieved in just a few months. ## The Treasury's Role Stéphane Bédard notes that the Treasury Board president must act as a listener rather than a simple enforcer. Because the Board lacks a direct client base, it relies on ministerial feedback to identify field problems. Success depends on maintaining a clear overview while balancing the government's fiscal targets and political priorities. ## Inter-departmental Dynamics The relationship between the Treasury Board and the Finance Ministry is critical for effective governance. Bédard highlights that while minor rivalries can impede information flow, close collaboration is essential. Since revenue projections are not exact sciences, the Treasury must maintain constant communication with the administration to ensure coherent policy implementation. ## The Regulatory Trap State complexity often grows from well-intentioned efforts to mitigate risk or avoid blame. Bédard observes that Auditor General reports frequently lead to new regulations and processes. Governments often adopt these additions to satisfy accountability demands, inadvertently creating a cycle that further increases the administrative burden on the entire state apparatus. ## Societal Expectations Coiteux describes a societal love-hate relationship with the state, where citizens demand government intervention for every problem. This constant pressure to act creates a vicious cycle of disappointment when the state cannot meet all expectations simultaneously. Addressing this requires a realistic understanding of government capacity and long-term administrative commitment. ## Sources covering this story - https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/chroniques/2026-11-08/entrevue-avec-deux-anciens-presidents-du-conseil-du-tresor/la-bureaucratie-au-dela-des-cliches.php?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=fil&utm_campaign=actualites — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._