Our Resource Hub
The Resource Hub was built by the Jarislowsky Chair in Public Sector Management to enable knowledge mobilization – ensuring that information, evidence and insights are accessible, understandable and useful for those who need it. The hub is structured as a reference library containing articles, interviews, and speeches authored by the Chairholder Michael Wernick, alongside videos and podcasts.
Additional resources and information on events organized by third-parties have also been made available to enhance your knowledge of governance and public sector management but also to support you in extending your reach and accelerating your research.
Should you have any feedback pertaining to the resources stored within the hub, please use this feedback form.
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Selected Articles
Nine fault lines and seams within the federal public service
There are a number of fault lines and seams that are familiar to those of us who have worked within the federal service and have been engaged in efforts to improve its effectiveness. What follows lays out nine of them, with no attempt to rank them.
Twin challenges to the public service
The public sector is entering another period where dramatic changes are coming. This is precisely the time to advocate for the importance of a dynamic, effective public service and to argue for mindful, smart management of these forces of change.
Diagnosing the elements of Tired Government Syndrome
Parliament has returned in Canada for what’s likely a final session before the election. If history is any guide, the government will find it hard to make progress before the election – and whoever wins will need to look afresh at public sector reform
Latest Articles
Bulking up the Privy Council Office Isn’t the solution
Original post on September 30, 2024 The next federal government we elect, whenever that happens, will have its hands full as Canada struggles with a stubbornly sluggish economy while global conflicts and trade disputes draw precious time and attention. Housing, climate, immigration, reconciliation, disruptions caused by AI – the list is a long one. By…
Report highlights strained relationship between public servants and ministers
Original post on Sep 02, 2024 A recent report analyzing what makes a strong public service found that governments worldwide are grappling with building respect between ministers and bureaucrats. A former clerk of the Privy Council and an expert on parliamentary democracy and governance say the issue is prevalent in Canada. The Global Government Forum…
Selected videos
Foreign interference: Growing confusion, contention over alleged meddling in Canada’s Parliament
Confusion is building over Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh sharing different takes on the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) report’s uncensored findings on foreign interference. Mackenzie Gray explains how May is clarifying her previous comments; how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is disputing the allegations; and whether the…
Democracy XChange 2024: Canada Amidst Chaos
At the Democracy XChange summit in Toronto, Steven Hassan (founding director of the Freedom of Mind Resource Center), Michael Wernick (Jarislowsky chair in public sector management at the University of Ottawa), and Leah West (associate professor of international affairs at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs) take part in a discussion on threats to…
Selected podcasts
The public service strike, with Mike Lapointe
The Hill Times’ public service reporter, Mike Lapointe, walks us through the causes and sticking points in the strike that has put more than 150,000 civil servants on picket lines.
Taking the good with the bad: listen to GGF’s latest Leading Questions podcast with Canada’s former cabinet secretary, Michael Wernick
In this interview Wernick highlights the public service’s strengths – advocating it to young graduates he says “you can hop around 300 organisations and locations across the country and the world and have a very interesting professional life that will take you places you never imagined you’d go” – but is equally candid about its…
Futureproofing for the Strategic Review
Guest host, Lori Turnbull, Deputy Editor, Canadian Government Executive welcomes very special guest Michael Wernick, former clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, currently Senior Strategic Advisor at MNP. Together, they dig into the hot and stressful topic of Spending Reviews – how they work, how they’re designed and their impact over…
Selected books
Governing Canada
In this first ever handbook of its kind, Michael Wernick, a career public servant with decades of experience “in the room” with Canada’s top politicians, shares candid advice and information that is usually only provided behind closed doors
Selected Parliamentary Committees
To watch, join or participate in meetings see our list of selected parliamentary committees.
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