Roundup: Pushing back against PMO

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There was an op-ed in the Star over the weekend from former Cabinet minister Lloyd Axworthy, in which he lamented the increasing centralization of power under the PMO, and that under Trudeau, ministers have become “infantilised,” particularly after seeing testimony at the Foreign Interference inquiry where chiefs of staff were keeping ministers in the dark about certain files. It’s a valid complaint, but not one unique to the Trudeau PMO, as Canadian academics have been making it since the previous Trudeau government, and was particularly egregious in the Harper government where everything flowed through the PMO—most especially message control—and ministers were rarely without approved talking points on their files.

I will also note that the current Trudeau did make an attempt to return to a system of “government by Cabinet,” and while certain ministers were free and capable to run their files, there was not an equitable distribution of talent in Cabinet as much as there was of gender, ethnicity and geography, so PMO did need to step in for some ministers. But there is also an inescapable reality that governing has also become more difficult than in the days of the first Trudeau government, and power is distributed much more horizontally because most issues require the cooperation of several ministries, and that requires a lot more central coordination from PMO or PCO. This being said, the real sin of the current government is that everything requires the sign-off from his chief of staff, which creates bottlenecks in decision-making, and that has been a continual problem.

In response to the Axworthy op-ed were a couple of tweets from Catherine McKenna about her experience—that PMO would say something, and she would push back if it didn’t come from Trudeau directly. It shows that a minister in charge of their file and who has the spine enough to stand their ground can do so, but not every minister is capable, and it’s something we need more ministers to learn how to do, because that’s how they will actually manage to own their own files.

Ukraine Dispatch

Two civilians were killed in a Russian attack on the southern Kherson region, while Russians have been making air attacks against Kharkiv and Kyiv. Ukraine continue to target ethanol plants in Russia with drones. A high-level South Korean delegation will be briefing the NATO Council about the North Korean troops now fighting on Russia’s behalf.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau told a Village Media podcast that he has no intention of quitting.
  • Anita Anand is looking for more provincial cooperation when it comes to stopping car-thefts, especially for things like criminals re-VINning cars to re-sell them.
  • Gary Anandasangaree has offered a formal apology to Ontario First Nations for government mismanagement of their funds after an 1862 agreement.
  • Here’s a look at how cities are trying to cope with homeless encampments that essentially become whac-a-mole.
  • A recent report suggests there could be a new wave of homeless veterans given the demographics and time elapsed since the end of the Afghan mission.
  • Conservative MP Larry Brock had to apologise for criticising that a question he asked was responded to in French.
  • Tim Houston has called a snap election in Nova Scotia, in spite of his first act as premier being to implement “fixed” election date legislation.
  • It’s election day in Saskatchewan.
  • Kevin Carmichael heads to the IMF annual meeting to hear that Canada is doing well, and that the worry is that the US election could tumble the international system.
  • Althia Raj revisits last week’s Liberal caucus meeting, the reasons why the message isn’t getting through to Trudeau, and why he may want to reconsider it.

Odds and ends:

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3 thoughts on “Roundup: Pushing back against PMO”

  1. North Korean troops now fighting on Russia’s behalf.

    I find this very hard to believe. Apparently the report comes from South Korea’s Intelligence whose record is a bit spotty.

    They reported that Kim had had a senior official brutally murdered after one of the meetings between Kim and Trump. Official turn up looking fine a few weeks later. Kim murdered his girlfriend who looked fine when sighted a few days later.

    I would not be surprised if there are DPRK troops in Russia. Language, differing military doctrines and what is probably badly outdated equipment would make the DPRK troops more of a hazard than a help in combat.

    That the troops are somewhere in Russia, probably in the Russian Far East, to learn about the new Russian ways of war and possibly to do a bit of training on modern Russian equipment is quite believable since the RF and the DPRK have just signed a mutual aid treaty.

    There might be some Korean observers in Kursk Oblast to see how the Russians do things.

  2. With no disrespect to those who weren’t actually there during Pierre Trudeau’s time in government, I beg to differ with the suggestion that his PMO was as controlling as those of Harper and Trudeau 2. There was definitely more structure to, for example, consultation through cabinet committees, but Pierre Trudeau’s ministers were not “infantilized” the way they clearly were — and continue to be — during the time Justin Trudeau has been prime minister.

    While Trudeau 2 said his would be ‘government by cabinet,’ it was clear from the talking points issued to his ministers on Day 1, that this was never to be. If PMO “did need to step in for some ministers,” then those ministers should never have been appointed. It was not a matter of lack of “talent.” It was a lack of competence. Justin must have felt that since anyone could be prime minister, anyone could be a minister of the Crown.

    I headed-up the staff of two ministers during my time on the Hill. At no point did my ministers feel they were obliged to check with Pierre Trudeau with respect to their appointments of ministerial staff. If a prime minister doesn’t trust his ministers even to select their own staff members, then that tells you either that the PM is ignorant of the meaning of cabinet government or that he never intended to have one.

    • I didn’t mean to imply that Trudeau I was infantilizing ministers, only that academics have complained about centralization since then.

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