The Hill Times had an interesting piece out yesterday about staffing changes into and out of the PMO, and what it says about the culture of central control in the Trudeau-led government. While some of the commentary from former Conservative staffers about the marked similarities could be seen as trouble-making (and indeed, I’m not sure that we are quite at the level of central control that was exerted under the Harper years), I do think there is a kernel of truth in there which may simply be a reflection of politics in the 21st century, which is heavy on message discipline in order to deal with the pressures of a media apparatus that was not as strident as it was during the days of cabinet government of yore. Add to that, the increasingly horizontal power structures mean that the mere act of governing is not the same as it was during those days, so the ways in which the practice of government has evolved should be a consideration.
Nevertheless, the movement of this staff is quite likely indicative of more than just the usual cross-pollination that takes place over the course of a government, and the concerns about rookie ministers needing more hand-holding are probably not unfounded, and there have definitely been some stories of certain ministers having chronic staffing problems that can’t be dismissed out of hand. Nor can former staffers’ concerns about movement being based on connections over ability be shrugged off either, though one has to wonder if it was ever always thus, and it just manifests itself in slightly different ways today than in the past. In all, while I disbelieve the notion that the Trudeau PMO is just the Harper PMO redux, I will agree that there are probably a few more similarities than either would like to admit to openly.
Good reads:
- Justin Trudeau is sounding more forceful on his pushback against Quebec’s Bill 62, but his Quebec caucus is sounding decidedly more reticent to challenge it.
- The latest census data were released, and it shows an increasing ethnic diversity, booming Indigenous youth and senior populations, and a decline in home owners.
- The government has tasked Jean-Yves Duclos with coming up with strategies to deal with the boom in Indigenous elders, and the resulting strain on our system.
- The director of CSIS is calling out the culture of bullying, favouritism and reprisals uncovered at the agency’s Toronto office.
- As mentioned yesterday, the Coast Guard is getting new funds, which are badly needed to keep their ships afloat.
- The government says there are no immediate plans to change bankruptcy laws to deal with pension liabilities, but they remain open to future considerations.
- DND is reviewing plans to arm the Kurds given their clashes with Iraqi forces.
- Visible minority MPs talk about some of their experiences with racism in politics.
- The Privacy Commissioner says there’s no privacy reason to exclude PMO and ministers’ offices from Access to Information legislation.
- The Senate is pulling out of the Phoenix pay system after its staff haven’t been able to get their pay sorted.
- A Conservative private member’s bill aims to make it easier for veterans to sue the government if service standards aren’t being met.
- The Russian embassy in Canada is tweeting photos of Ukrainian monuments in this country and calling them monuments to Nazi collaborators.
- Kevin Carmichael notes that the good news in the economic update is being overshadowed by the questions about Morneau’s assets.
- Paul Wells suspects that the Liberals have started looking for short-term gains as their longer-term plans are gaining little popular support.
Odds and ends:
That skating rink they’re setting up on Parliament Hill looks to be partly funded by an Ottawa Senators fund.
Samara Canada has a study on heckling in the Commons, which I hope to delve into during an upcoming column.