Public Servants and Their Relationships with Politicians and the Media
Seasoned observers of government institutions are in broad agreement that the relationship between public servants and politicians has never been more strained than it is today. Part of this reflects a decades-long decline in the public’s trust in politicians and the public sector in general that all mature democracies have had to grapple with. But this general trend has been exacerbated in Canada. The Conservatives had been out of office for 13 years prior to their return to power, and (as is common in such situations) have had an uneasy – some would even say adversarial -- relationship with both the public service and the media. Furthermore, revelations of inappropriate conduct by a small number of public officials (most vividly illustrated by the sponsorship scandal and its fallout, but including others), has reinforced distrust of public institutions.
There are numerous recent examples of the tension between public servants and the elected officials to whom they report at all levels of government:
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In a June 2010 CBC interview, CSIS head Richard Fadden revealed evidence of unnamed provincial and municipal politicians under excessive influence of foreign agents. He was subsequently criticized for making the remarks before the relevant investigation was complete and before the relevant cabinet ministers and the Prime Minister had been briefed on the findings.
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Kevin Page, head of the fledgling Parliamentary Budget Office, has feuded publicly with the government about the accuracy of the Finance Minister’s 5-year budget forecasts, as well as the degree to which his reports should be made public. He also took the unprecedented step of publicly denouncing proposed budget cuts to his agency, which many media outlets took to be politically motivated.
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In Quebec, former justice minister Marc Bellemare has alleged that Premier Jean Charest knowingly permitted provincial Liberal party fundraisers to influence selection of judges, leading Mr. Charest to file a libel lawsuit against Mr. Bellemare.
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Shortly after coming to power in Saskatchewan, Brad Wall fired a large number of civil servants, many of whom had decades of experience and no political ties. At least one layoff was overturned by the Saskatchewan Public Service Commission.
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In Montreal, allegations of bid-rigging, favouritism and large anticipated cost overruns in late 2009 on a contract for municipal water meters led to its cancellation and the resignation of two city managers, leaving the worthwhile goal of conservation cast aside.
The explosion of media outlets (including both increasingly widely read political blogs as well as traditional print and broadcast media) and increasing competition for readership and viewership has magnified the impact of these and other examples in which public servants and elected officials are at odds, making what once might have been small sideshows into full-blown debates that crowd out important public and private discussion of substantive issues.
In this maelstrom of mistrust and magnified public scrutiny, how can the public service fulfill its dual role of operationalizing the policy initiatives of the government in power in a professional and nonpartisan way and providing frank and unvarnished advice on the medium- and longer-term consequences of those policies? Do civil servants, increasingly in the public eye, need to be more thick-skinned? To what extent does a diverse and outspoken media help or hinder effective governance? Do politicians expect too much cooperation from other players when implementing their agenda?
Join us for a spirited discussion of these and other questions about the interplay between public servants, politicians and the media and how it affects policy making in Canada and public trust in government. Chaired by Kevin Lynch, who served as Clerk of the Privy Council from 2006 to 2009 to cap a dedicated 33-year career in Canada’s federal public service, the conference brings together a distinguished group of political figures, public servants and journalists to reflect on the current state of relations and what, if anything, must change to improve public trust and enable Canadian governments at all levels to more effectively carry out their respective missions.
Jeremy Leonard, Research Director at the Montreal-based Institute for Research on Public Policy, will serve as rapporteur for the 2010 Palmer Conference.