Tommy Shoyama, legendary DM at Finance, could teach a few lessons on public service

He was "top of the line" said former Liberal prime minister John Turner, one of many friends of the legendary Tommy Shoyama who heaped praise on this former deputy minister of Finance. Shoyama, who had been ailing for some years, quietly and doggedly died shortly before Christmas at the age of 90. When I saw him in the summer of 2003 in Victoria, B.C., he said he planned to make it through to his ninth decade, and so he did, in a style that was his trademark; quietly, and with dignity and determination. These days many of his friends and associates are recalling Shoyama the person and the deputy minister. And he presents us with a good case study of what makes a good deputy minister. Al Johnson called him a "man of great wisdom," a compliment he said was of the highest degree. Johnson and Shoyama were part of the famed Saskatchewan mafia who were recruited to Ottawa in the mid-1960s after the innovative term of the Tommy Douglas government in that province. "He was quiet, and modest." Johnson recalled that he was very close to Tommy Douglas in the Saskatchewan days and made things work and got key parts of government communicating like never before. John Crosbie became finance minister just after Shoyama left the department in 1979, but knew him from an earlier time when the former was finance minister in Newfoundland and the latter was the finance deputy minister in Ottawa. "He had a very good understanding of equalization and was sympathetic to the needs of the disadvantaged provinces. He was a very able person and I had a very high opinion of him," said Crosbie. When it comes to the qualities that a minister, especially a finance minister looks for in a deputy minister, both Crosbie and Turner said they looked for a trusted adviser who would work hard, do all the research, canvass all the opinions and then present the minister with realistic options for action. Crosbie added that there was no point having a deputy minister who would tell you what you wanted to hear or who would shape his opinions according to the minister's. He added, "I can't think of anyone where a civil servant gave me partisan advice. They were always straight up with me and I respected them for it." But that is easier said than done. Deputy ministers are appointed by the Prime Minister and not selected by the minister and they do operate in a political atmosphere. Crosbie pointed out that he had little say in who his deputies were but that they nevertheless worked out very well and they developed a respectful working relationship. In Ottawa, Shoyama served Turner, Donald Macdonald and Jean ChrÃ©tien at Finance and was an adviser to Pierre Trudeau on fiscal federalism. While he was finance minister in the 70s, Turner said he had developed a good personal relationship with Shoyama and that they enjoyed each other's company socially as well. "Tommy was a hero," he said of his life story. Interned as a Japanese Canadian during World War II, he still rose to serve his country with great distinction. "One of my professors in university had been Henry Angus, one of the few prominent people to oppose the internment and from him I gained a keen understanding of this situation. That helped create a strong personal bond between Tommy and me." Macdonald notes that it was Shoyama who convinced him to stay in politics in the mid-70s. He was planning to leave Ottawa at the time John Turner resigned from Cabinet in 1975, but Shoyama convinced him to stay and take on the Finance portfolio and assured him they could work well together. Macdonald said he was perhaps the leading expert on equalization and wage and price controls which were key policies of that time and cherished his gentle but determined personality. There is no doubt that the careers of the minister and deputy are closely intertwined. If one bombs the other gets the shrapnel (although deputies, as permanent employees, do have longer careers in positions and influence and can rehabilitate themselves). Because of the high stakes jobs though, it is not unusual that the two, boss and underling, create a common bond. Ian Bennett, now the president of the Canadian Mint, and until recently deputy at Finance, was hired by Shoyama straight out of university. He characterized Shoyama as having a "tough agile mind and a sense of humour, someone who took a real interest in people." To him, Shoyama personified what a deputy minister had to provide a minister: a level of confidence and a relationship of trust and professionalism. Alan Nymark, who recently retired as deputy minister at HRSDC said there were three things that are important in the relationship between minister and deputy: personal integrity, harnessing the best advice to present to the minister and "speaking truth to power." While ministers need to carry the day, if a deputy believes a political policy is not appropriate the deputy needs to explain the implications to the minister and then go with the minister's decision. Nymark who was director of policy at the Macdonald Commission in the mid-1980s, when Shoyama was a member, added that he found Shoyama to be a clear, bright thinker, who was analytical, methodical and a good listener. As Nymark put it, Shoyama was a role model. Public servants were comfortable having him as a leader and politicians were comfortable with him as a senior public servant. His companion Hazel Morris believes Shoyama's love for the public service comes from his Japanese roots. Values deeply embedded in him were that we all come into the world with a debt and should pay it back. He took his work very seriously and cherished his ability to be a senior public servant and then later a professor at the University of Victoria. Morris said he found his work and hobbies (rose gardening among them) equally interesting. He would look for the challenge and the response. Speaking truth to power is what many senior public servants are nervous about doing when there is a change in administration, be it a new party in power or a new Prime Minister. Such a buzz has been around Ottawa for a few years now. But what the pros seem to be saying is, good ministers respect good public servants and that in the end, both thrive when there is a respectful professional relationship based on commitment to public service, competence, trust and confidence. I call it the Tommy Shoyama school of public service! Andrew Cardozo writes a monthly column for The Hill Times. In the 1990s he was founding president of the Pearson-Shoyama Institute in Ottawa. A memorial service will be held at the University of Victoria on Jan. 20, 2007. news@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

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