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Government 101: Adjunct Prof’s New Book A ‘How To’ For Political Leaders
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When Michael Wernick retired as Clerk of the Privy Council in spring 2019 after nearly 40 years in the federal bureaucracy, including three as Canada’s top public servant, he could have written a memoir about his experiences with four prime ministers and dozens of senior politicians.
Canada’s former top bureaucrat says price of public life ‘going up’
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The country’s former Clerk of the Privy Council says the last several years have shown that the price of entering into the political ring is “going up.”
Michael Wernick has some advice
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Brian Mulroney was the prime minister the first time Michael Wernick sat at the back of a cabinet committee room, taking notes. One time the young civil servant found himself transcribing John Crosbie’s remarks as the powerful fisheries minister recited arguments Wernick himself had put into Crosbie’s briefing notes.
To change the trajectory of federal spending, start big and follow the money
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Political parties don’t like to talk about spending cuts – except perhaps to insinuate that the other parties have some hidden agenda. They try to project to voters that they can be trusted to manage the finances of the federal government, but details will always be sketchy. Campaign promises tend to be specific about shiny…
Confronted with Canada’s grim history, we must strive to do better on inclusion
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The discovery of unmarked graves of children near former Indian residential schools has created waves of shock and anger across Canada. Michael Wernick, former deputy minister for Indigenous affairs and clerk of the Privy Council, hopes that out of the pain will come a renewed commitment to reconciliation and social inclusion.
Talk of Scottish Independence sparks memories of Canada’s fight for national unity.
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It must strike others as odd that Canadians strongly associate the arrival of warm weather with another comforting rite of spring – the culmination of the ice hockey season. Over the next two months the sport’s core audience will be joined by millions of fair-weather fans who only show up for the Stanley Cup and…
The growing friction between bilingualism and other forms of inclusion in Canada
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In mid-April Canada’s attention is fully seized by the race to suppress an alarming third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, fueled by variants, through vaccination and another tapping of “emergency brake” lockdown measures. It will be a close run thing.
Threats against politicians ‘very frequent’, former Privy Council clerk says
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Originally posted: Jul 25, 2020 Canada’s former top civil servant says Canadians would be shocked and dismayed to learn the true level of abuse and the number of violent threats politicians face during their time in office. Politicians often receive ‘vile’ messages attacking gender, religion, race, says Michael Wernick CBC News: The House47:12Pandemics, party unity…
Michael Wernick on turbulent times for Canada – and its Clerk
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Ever since Michael Wernick joined the Canadian federal civil service nearly 40 years ago, the pace of life – and government – has been accelerating. “The feedback is faster; the reaction times are shorter; governments have to take decisions – politically and internally – with less time and less perfect information,” he says. “The days…
One new member, but all familiar faces, in Cabinet shuffle
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Quebec has a new lineup of cabinet ministers, including one person who has yet to be elected to the National Assembly. Wednesday morning in the red room of the National Assembly, Premier Jean Charest presented his new cabinet.