Royal Commission on Government Organization

Royal Commission on Government Organization

Also known as	Glassco Commission
Commissioners	J. Grant Glassco (Chair) Robert Watson Sellar F. Eugene Therrier
Inquiry period	16 September 1960 (1960-09-16)– 1963 (1963)
Authorized	Order in Council P.C. 1960-1269
Vol. I Vol. II Vol. III Vol. IV Vol. V

The Royal Commission on Government Organization (also known as the Glassco Commission) was a Canadian Royal Commission appointed in 1960 to inquire into the organization of the Government of Canada. Chaired by businessman J. Grant Glassco, it issued a five volume report in 1962 and 1963 recommending that government departments be managed on a decentralized basis, that the Treasury Board be reorganized, and that senior management should rotate between departments. ^[1]

Recommendations

The Glassco recommended that the Dominion Bureau of Statistics should become an independent department whose independence should formally be recognised. In January 1965, this led to an Order in Council, which designated the Bureau Department of the federal government. The Dominion Statistician would be Deputy Head. ^[2]

References

1. "The Canadian Encyclopedia entry on the Glassco Commission" . Retrieved 2016-06-14.
2. Government of Canada (3 December 2018). "Chapter 1: Setting the stage and introducing the early 1970s". www150.statcan.gc.ca. Government of Canada. Retrieved 11 March 2025.