Ontario. Civil Service Commission

• Civil Service Commission

• Office of the Civil Service Commissioner of Ontario

• Ontario. Dept. of Civil Service

• Ontario. Dept. of the Civil Service Commissioner

• Ontario. Public Service Commission

The Civil Service Commission has its origins in the Office of the Civil Service Commissioner, which was established by legislation in 1918. The role of the Commissioner was to institute a uniform method for dealing with civil service appointments, promotions and salary revisions.

Early developments within the Office of the Commissioner included the establishment of the Ontario Public Service Superannuation Plan, in 1920, as well as the adoption the Commissioner's classification plan for the standardization of civil service salaries, in 1927.

Boards and agencies established by the commission have included the Joint Advisory Council, established in 1944; the Civil Service Board of Review, which was established in the mid-1940's; and both the Public Service Grievance Board and the Classification Rating Committee, established in 1960. In 1963, the Joint Advisory Council was replaced with the Ontario Joint Council.

Legislation introduced in 1947 allowed for the expansion of the Office of the Civil Service Commissioner to that of a commission of not more than three individuals. It wasn't until 1957, however, that additional Commissioners were actually appointed. Currently, the Civil Service Commission consists of four members, one of which is the Chair.

From 1965 until 1972, the staff of the commission was referred to as the Department of Civil Service, with the Chair of the Commission being the head of the Department. Use of the term "Department" was abolished in 1972 by the Government Reorganization Act.

In 1986, the staff of the Civil Service Commission, along with its human resources management functions were transferred to the newly established Human Resources Secretariat. This secretariat, which reported to the Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet, was responsible for developing human resources management policies and programs for the government in consultation with the ministries, and for representing the Government of Ontario in collective bargaining and employee relations matters. The Civil Service Commission itself, however, retained its regulation-making and adjudicative powers and continued to function as a tribunal. In 1991, the Human Resources Secretariat was abolished and its responsibilities were absorbed by the Management Board Secretariat.

The commission reported directly to the Premier of Ontario from 1918 to 1945. Since 1945, the commission has reported to the Provincial Secretary (1945-1958), the Treasurer (1958- 1971), and to the Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet (1971- present).

In 2006, the Civil Service Commission was continued under the new name of Public Service Commission, under the Public Service of Ontario Act.

The Ontario Civil Service Commission was originally designed to establish a uniform method of dealing with appointments, promotions and salary revisions within the Ontario Public Service. As the civil service expanded, the commission and its staff provided the various ministries, boards and commissions of the Government with policies, procedures, guidelines and other support services to enable them to staff their organizations.

In 1986, the human resources management responsibilities of the commission were transferred to the newly established Human Resources Secretariat, an independent agency that reported to the Management Board of Cabinet. Since then the commission has acted solely as a tribunal with regulation-making and adjudicative powers in the areas of classification standards, salary revisions, hours of work, employee benefits, promotions and appointment procedures.

Public Service Act, Statutes of Ontario 1918, Chap. 1

Public Service Amendment Act, Statutes of Ontario 1965, Chap. 110

Government Reorganization Act, Statutes of Ontario 1972, Chap. 1

Public Service Amendment Act, Statutes of Ontario 1972, Chap. 96

Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 35

RAD: Rules for Archival Description, 2nd edn (2008)

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Annual Reports of the Civil Service Commission

Canadiana Name Authorities, 1996-12- 24

Government of Ontario Telephone Directories

Hodgetts, J.E. From Arm's Length to Hands-On: The Formative Years of Ontario's Public Service, 1867-1940 (1995)

Archivist(s):
R. Anger