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Donald Savoie

GG Simon on solid ground to dismiss Poilievre’s request to recall Parliament, but if a majority of MPs asked, it could be a different story

  • Giving the power to a majority of MPs to decide when they meet would go some distance in giving Parliament some power over the
Opinion | BY DONALD SAVOIE | December 24, 2024
Mary Simon
Mary Simon
Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, pictured Nov. 11, 2023, watches the march of the parade at the Remembrance Day ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. One way to rebalance power between prime ministers and Parliament is to give Parliament the power to decide when it should sit, writes Donald J. Savoie. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

GG Simon on solid ground to dismiss Poilievre’s request to recall Parliament, but if a majority of MPs asked, it could be a different story

Opinion | BY DONALD SAVOIE | December 24, 2024
  • Giving the power to a majority of MPs to decide when they meet would go some distance in giving Parliament some power over the

GG Simon on solid ground to dismiss Poilievre’s request to recall Parliament, but if a majority of MPs asked, it could be a different story

Opinion | BY DONALD SAVOIE | December 24, 2024
  • Giving the power to a majority of MPs to decide when they meet would go some distance in giving Parliament some power over the
Mary Simon
Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, pictured Nov. 11, 2023, watches the march of the parade at the Remembrance Day ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. One way to rebalance power between prime ministers and Parliament is to give Parliament the power to decide when it should sit, writes Donald J. Savoie. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Federal public service has lost its way, and not always by its own doing

  • The stakes for Canada, for representative democracy, and for the future of our institutions are too high to simply let things drift. It is
Opinion | BY DONALD SAVOIE | May 27, 2024
The Prime Minister’s Office in Ottawa, pictured. In the 1970s, 72 per cent of federal public servants worked in regional or local offices but now, the public service is edging closer to having 50 per cent of public servants work in the NCR. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Federal public service has lost its way, and not always by its own doing

Opinion | BY DONALD SAVOIE | May 27, 2024
  • The stakes for Canada, for representative democracy, and for the future of our institutions are too high to simply let things drift. It is

Federal public service has lost its way, and not always by its own doing

Opinion | BY DONALD SAVOIE | May 27, 2024
  • The stakes for Canada, for representative democracy, and for the future of our institutions are too high to simply let things drift. It is
The Prime Minister’s Office in Ottawa, pictured. In the 1970s, 72 per cent of federal public servants worked in regional or local offices but now, the public service is edging closer to having 50 per cent of public servants work in the NCR. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Cabinet government is on life support, and it needs a reboot, stat

  • Canada should commit to limit the size of cabinet to 20, and to bring all important government decisions before cabinet. Give more power to
Opinion | BY DONALD SAVOIE | May 20, 2024
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, pictured at a Liberal caucus meeting on the Hill on Jan. 25, 2024. Then-British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had a 15-member cabinet in 1942 to deal with the war effort and to run the government. A 39-member cabinet may make for good partisan politics, but not for good government, writes Donald Savoie. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Cabinet government is on life support, and it needs a reboot, stat

Opinion | BY DONALD SAVOIE | May 20, 2024
  • Canada should commit to limit the size of cabinet to 20, and to bring all important government decisions before cabinet. Give more power to

Cabinet government is on life support, and it needs a reboot, stat

Opinion | BY DONALD SAVOIE | May 20, 2024
  • Canada should commit to limit the size of cabinet to 20, and to bring all important government decisions before cabinet. Give more power to
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, pictured at a Liberal caucus meeting on the Hill on Jan. 25, 2024. Then-British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had a 15-member cabinet in 1942 to deal with the war effort and to run the government. A 39-member cabinet may make for good partisan politics, but not for good government, writes Donald Savoie. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Savoie gets to the bottom of the story in Canada: Beyond Grudges, Grievances, and Disunity

  • The following is an excerpt from Canada: Beyond Grudges, Grievances, and Disunity, by Donald Savoie, one of five books shortlisted for this year's Shaughnessy
FeatureBY DONALD SAVOIE | May 6, 2024
Donald J. Savoie on who should read this book: 'I wrote this book for all Canadians. I think that it is important for Canadians to take stock of what works, what does not, who benefits from the country’s national political institutions, who does not, and how collectively we can make them better.' Book cover and author photograph courtesy of McGill-Queen's University Press

Savoie gets to the bottom of the story in Canada: Beyond Grudges, Grievances, and Disunity

FeatureBY DONALD SAVOIE | May 6, 2024
  • The following is an excerpt from Canada: Beyond Grudges, Grievances, and Disunity, by Donald Savoie, one of five books shortlisted for this year's Shaughnessy

Savoie gets to the bottom of the story in Canada: Beyond Grudges, Grievances, and Disunity

FeatureBY DONALD SAVOIE | May 6, 2024
  • The following is an excerpt from Canada: Beyond Grudges, Grievances, and Disunity, by Donald Savoie, one of five books shortlisted for this year's Shaughnessy
Donald J. Savoie on who should read this book: 'I wrote this book for all Canadians. I think that it is important for Canadians to take stock of what works, what does not, who benefits from the country’s national political institutions, who does not, and how collectively we can make them better.' Book cover and author photograph courtesy of McGill-Queen's University Press

Prime ministers, unwittingly or not, have unleashed powerful forces when they told government managers to embrace private-sector management practices while leaving their accountability requirements intact

  • Presidents and prime ministers, in four countries with different political institutions, came to power with easy slogans: doing more with less; deliverology; joined-up government;
Opinion | BY DONALD SAVOIE | June 27, 2022
Prime ministers did not make government less of a political institution by centralizing more and more political power into their own hands and offices. Rather, they have made government operations even more political and, at the same time, eroded further the efficacy of government, writes Donald Savoie. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Prime ministers, unwittingly or not, have unleashed powerful forces when they told government managers to embrace private-sector management practices while leaving their accountability requirements intact

Opinion | BY DONALD SAVOIE | June 27, 2022
  • Presidents and prime ministers, in four countries with different political institutions, came to power with easy slogans: doing more with less; deliverology; joined-up government;

Prime ministers, unwittingly or not, have unleashed powerful forces when they told government managers to embrace private-sector management practices while leaving their accountability requirements intact

Opinion | BY DONALD SAVOIE | June 27, 2022
  • Presidents and prime ministers, in four countries with different political institutions, came to power with easy slogans: doing more with less; deliverology; joined-up government;
Prime ministers did not make government less of a political institution by centralizing more and more political power into their own hands and offices. Rather, they have made government operations even more political and, at the same time, eroded further the efficacy of government, writes Donald Savoie. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

The time is ripe to grapple with Canada’s big institutional questions

  • Canadians have just had a crash course in the workings of their national political institutions. What have they learned? Partisan politics rules. Canadians ought
Opinion | BY DONALD SAVOIE | March 13, 2019
Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick isn’t a partisan, writes Donald Savoie, but his recent foray into the spotlight raises questions over whether his various roles should be separated. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

The time is ripe to grapple with Canada’s big institutional questions

Opinion | BY DONALD SAVOIE | March 13, 2019
  • Canadians have just had a crash course in the workings of their national political institutions. What have they learned? Partisan politics rules. Canadians ought

The time is ripe to grapple with Canada’s big institutional questions

Opinion | BY DONALD SAVOIE | March 13, 2019
  • Canadians have just had a crash course in the workings of their national political institutions. What have they learned? Partisan politics rules. Canadians ought
Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick isn’t a partisan, writes Donald Savoie, but his recent foray into the spotlight raises questions over whether his various roles should be separated. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
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