“Unfortunately, the report also includes some other recommendations that do not take adequate account of how governments actually function, and thus could do a good deal of harm.”
The letter was signed by former Ontario NDP premier Bob Rae; John Manley, deputy Liberal prime minister under Jean Chrétien; former Conservative cabinet minister Barbara McDougall; Tory Senator and onetime Brian Mulroney aide Hugh Segal, and dozens of others.
The main worries they listed were Gomery’s proposals to:
— Strip the prime minister of the power to personally appoint deputy ministers, the top civil servants in each federal department.
— Lessen the influence of the clerk of the Privy Council, the prime minister’s eyes and ears in the bureaucracy.
— Give public servants greater autonomy than they now enjoy in their relations with cabinet ministers — but let them dodge blame for wrong-headed decisions if the minister chooses to ignore their advice.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1141643710855&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home
[Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on March 8, 2006]
Note: http://www.thestar.com/...
Don't Listen To Gomrey, Harper Told
Posted on Tuesday, March 07 at 08:12 by 4CanadaContributed By
Topic
Article Rating
(0 votes)
Options
Stumble It!Comments
view comments in forum
Page 1
Ministers to departments are appointed by the PM. The Minister then chooses an assistant, or Deputy Minister.
The secret to any government department is, it's the Assistant Deputy Minister who really controls the Ministry. They are the civil servants who have put in 20 years climbing through the department, and have the respect or fear of the people who work there. Long after the voters or PM have chosen a new Minister and Deputy Minister, the ADM will still be there, doing what they've always done.
---
"I think it's important to always carry enough technology to restart civilization, should it be necessary." Mark Tilden