PCO seeks ‘issues ninja,’ ‘master storyteller’
The Privy Council Office is taking great strides to make working in the federal public service more interesting, and apparently coming up with cool job titles is part of that strategy. An internal job posting went out late last month seeking an “issues ninja,” a “master storyteller,” and another job to support Prime Minister Justin […]
Whistleblower protection: who really pulls the strings?
OTTAWA—When examining the sorry track record of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner’s Office, it’s easy to overlook those primarily responsible: it was Privy Council Office (PCO) and the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS), working mostly behind the scenes, who—intentionally or not—set up PSIC to fail. Here’s how it was done. The Role of Treasury Board Treasury […]
PMO ‘so far behind on appointments,’ rigorous new hiring process, lack of qualified people cited for extensions of lobbying, ethics commissioners
A packed government agenda, a dearth of qualified candidates, and a bogging down in process due to the new merit-based approach to senior appointments by government are cited as possible reasons why the commissioners of lobbying and ethics have once again been given six-month extensions on an interim basis. Lobbying Commissioner Karen Shepherd and Conflict […]
Phoenix fiasco is still one hot mess
It’s another week and there is still no solution to what’s now being called the “Phoenix fiasco,” the federal government’s new computerized and problem-plagued payroll system which has affected the pay of 82,000 federal public servants. Public Services Minister Judy Foote, who said she wants to fix the massive problem as soon as possible, was in Ottawa […]
Lobbying, ethics commissioners given six-month extensions
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet reappointed Canada’s federal lobbying commissioner Karen Shepherd and ethics commissioner Mary Dawson to six more months last week after their terms expired. Privy Council Office spokesman Raymond Rivet said Thursday that cabinet was recommending Ms. Shepherd and Ms. Dawson be appointed to interim extensions that would last no more than six months. Cameron Ahmad, a […]
PM’s recent changes to top ranks of public service seen as renewal, wants ‘responsive, adaptive’ senior players
Upper-level adjustments to the federal public service keep coming under the Trudeau government, and experts say these changes have more to do with efforts to renew the public service—a process started under the former Conservative government—than being any sort of branding effort by the new Liberal government. Since taking office on Nov. 4, Prime Minister […]
Privy Council Office’s new delivery unit increases capacity for centralized control, say experts
The Privy Council Office’s Results and Delivery Unit, created by the new Trudeau Liberal government, has increased the capacity for more centralized control over government, say experts. But while there are early positive signs it will be used to strengthen cabinet, it remains to be seen what the effect will be in practice in the years […]
Public service loses workers in young, middle age groups, gains people 55-plus
As the Privy Council continues to place a high priority on recruiting young people in the federal public service to replace aging baby boomers, demographic trends in the latest annual report from the Privy Council clerk to the prime minister show some discouraging trends. The report from Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick to Prime Minister […]
Meet the PM’s ‘deliverology’ guy, PCO’s Mendelsohn doesn’t waste time
One of the key roles of Matthew Mendelsohn—who’s been a Privy Council Office deputy secretary to cabinet in charge of “results and delivery” for about four months—is helping ministers and deputy ministers prioritize their time so the government can achieve its most important goals. Mr. Mendelsohn demonstrated his time-prioritization skills during an interview last week […]
Wernick planning to stick around PCO for a while, push on for ‘nimbleness and agility’ in PS
Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick says he’s in no rush to help establish a process for picking his successor since he doesn’t expect to be leaving the job any time soon. In January, Mr. Wernick was announced as the new clerk in a press release from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.), which highlighted, as […]
