Privy Council Office ready to support government transition with new clerk, ‘whatever the result of the election’

Although Clerk of the Privy Council Ian Shugart has only been in the role since April, the Privy Council Office says they will be ready to support the government transition, “whatever the result of the election.” PCO spokesman Pierre-Alain Bujold told Civil Circles that “with more than a decade of service as a deputy minister, Mr. Shugart has on a number of occasions been actively involved in planning transition advice at the most senior levels of the public service,” in a written statement. “In preparing transition advice, the Clerk of the Privy Council is supported by the Privy Council Office as well as the public service more broadly, including by the cadre of deputy ministers,” wrote Mr. Bujold. Mr. Bujold wrote that the preparation of advice for a new or returning government takes place over a number of months, depending on the nature and subject of the advice, and that work has already started. “Although work has been ongoing for some time, activity is concentrated in the six months or so leading to the anticipated general election,” he said. After a general election, the bureaucracy helps the new minister—either of the same or different political stripe as the last—get up to speed and start implementing their agenda, including preparing briefing books on policy and operational issues. David Zussman, a former public service commissioner and author of Off and Running: The Prospects and Pitfalls of Government Transitions in Canada, told Civil Circles that there’s been quite a change in attitude with regard to transitions over the last 20 years, and that the public service is now engaged in the transition exercise well ahead of time. Mr. Zussman led former prime minister Jean Chrétien’s transition to power in 1993. “They start well in advance of elections—particularly since we know the election date,” said Mr. Zussman. “This is no longer an ad hoc exercise.” Since May 2007, the Canada Elections Act provides for a general election to be held on a fixed date: the third Monday of October in the fourth calendar year following the previous general election. General elections can still be called on an earlier date, however. Mr. Shugart became the new Clerk of the Privy Council in March, following the retirement of former privy council clerk Michael Wernick. Michael Wernick announced he'd be stepping down as PCO clerk on March 18; he officially retired a month later. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade Mr. Wernick was one of the key figures in the fallout from the SNC-Lavalin affair. Opposition parties accused him of being partisan over the course of two House Justice Committee meetings while the committee was studying the issue. In a March 6 statement, Mr. Wernick said “I am disappointed to be accused of partisanship by people who have never met me. My career is on the public record.” “I have held the highest security clearances of this country for many years. I was named to deputy minister level positions by prime ministers Chrétien, Martin, Harper, and Trudeau. I participated in the transition exercise, the swearing-in and the first Cabinet meeting of prime ministers Martin, Harper, and Trudeau,” said Mr. Wernick in the statement. In announcing his departure, Mr. Wernick said "recent events" led to his decision, and that it's "essential" the public service be seen as non-partisan. Mr. Zussman said that even with a new clerk in place, "at this point in time, all departments have engaged in some preparation, so the actual changeover probably doesn't make a whole lot of difference in terms of initial preparations." “When it will be important, of course, is the day after the election when the clerk would meet the new or re-elected prime minister,” continued Mr. Zussman. “The difference might be that the current clerk might have a different set of priorities or be concerned with different types of issues than his predecessor was, but I don’t think that’s likely the case in large part because Ian Shugart was already a senior deputy in the government,” said Mr. Zussman. “His views would already have been taken into account before the changeover.” Transition exercises ‘should include thinking’ around minority governments Mr. Zussman said that although he didn’t have a chapter on minority governments in his book, he should have, “because they are more and more common now.” “I think any transition exercise has to include some thinking about what a minority government would look like,” said Mr. Zussman. “In other words, if you’re working on a Liberal transition or a Conservative transition, who will go to for support? And what are they going to have to offer up to the other party to persuade them to come on and support their agenda?” Minority governments impact how the public service works with the government, said former parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page, as all financial bills in minority government situations constitute votes of confidence. “The work that they do, the way that the public service interacts with the government, there may be some strategic advice as to the elements of the agenda what it will take to move it forward,” said Mr. Page. University of Toronto Professor Nelson Wiseman told Civil Circles that all political parties now appoint transition teams because government has become more complex. “They might use a combination of people who haven’t been in the civil service and you might want to use people who have been in the civil service in the past so you find some who have similar outlooks to you.” “This is called transition planning on the political side rather than on the civil service side,” said Prof. Wiseman. PBO costing party platforms ahead of October election In preparation for the October 2019 federal election, the Parliamentary Budget Officer launched a new tool to provide political parties an opportunity for analysis and costing of promises made within their election platforms. Consistent with its mandate, the PBO committed to publish a 10-year economic and fiscal baseline projection prior to the start of the pre-election period; that costing baseline was published on June 20. The official pre-election period—the first of its kind in Canada—began June 30. The baseline projection and its underlying assumptions will be used to prepare financial cost estimates during the election proposal costing (EPC) period, according to the release. Political parties may use these assumptions and projections to prepare their own cost estimates. Former parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page says the PBO's new role in costing party platforms is a 'good idea.'The Hill Times file photograph Mr. Page said this was something the Liberals talked about in their 2015 platform and that they brought forth through the first 2017 budget implementation bill, which also strengthened the PBO role by making it an officer of Parliament. “I think it’s a good idea, I like that they’re doing this,” said Mr. Page. “There are a lot of legislative budget officers and things called fiscal councils throughout the world, but very few around the world actually do have a legislative budget office that provide this costing, this opportunity for parties to actually go to the experts.” But Prof. Wiseman said he doesn’t think it will change much because a lot of what is found within platforms is “very elastic.” “A lot of platforms are very general. I keep thinking about this election in Ontario. What was the Conservative platform? You’re going to have everything you want, and we’re going to cut taxes and it’s not going to cost you anything,” said Prof. Wiseman. “And did the public care? As it turns out, no.” Mr. Zussman said he didn’t think parties could have a platform these days that don’t include an honest accounting of the cost, “in large part because there’s so many people watching and they get clobbered if they’ve got unrealistic numbers.” “I think since 1983, every major party has costed their platform. And I think that's just the way it's going to be now,” said Mr. Zussman. mlapointe@hilltimes.com The Hill Times CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that the Clerk of the Privy Council Ian Shugart has been in the role since April, not March. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his intention to name Mr. Shugart to the role in March.

Privy Council Office ready to support government transition with new clerk, ‘whatever the result of the election’

Public service transition planning now starts 'well in advance of elections', says David Zussman.

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