Tag: Accountability
Stress testing Canadian governance
Across Canada, the public sector struggled to put in place pandemic public health measures, provide emergency relief to households and businesses, and continue to deliver a vast array of services to Canadians. These efforts are now going through after-action reviews supported by an extensive array of officers and agents of Parliament.
The pull and push of the centre that haunts the public service
The federal public sector has been shaped by two easily identifiable democratic forces – the views of the people we elect about the role of the state in society and the economy as well as the federal government’s role within the federation. Federal institutions, direct programs and transfers to other levels of government have waxed…
Letter from Ottawa: an exhausting year shows the limits of foresight
Accountability in government is important – but hindsight must be used to help build resilience and capacity in the public sector, not make politicians and public servants even more risk averse
Leaving the comfort zone: Difficult issues in public sector reform
Much of the commentary on the public sector stays at the level of generalities. Exhortations to become more strategic, more inclusive, bolder in advice and better in delivery are impossible to contest. Too often, the discussion stops short of analyzing resistance or tradeoff among objectives. As in so many things, we are much better at…
Letter from Ottawa: After a winter of shocks, Canada’s Budget is the latest sign of stability
A political agreement that increased the durability of the government and a Budget that that launched a number of policy reviews indicate that the government in Ottawa is trying to think more long term.
LETTER FROM OTTAWA: Now is the winter of our discontent.
Opinion: the ongoing truckers’ protests against COVID-19 restrictions in Canada could be taken as a worrying sign of polarisation. But as Michael Wernick, former clerk of the Privy Council writes, things may not be as gloomy as they seem.
Confronted with Canada’s grim history, we must strive to do better on inclusion
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.