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Monday, November 18, 2024
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Monday, November 18, 2024 | Latest Paper

Stephen Van Dine and Don Abelson

Stephen Van Dine is senior vice-president of the Institute on Governance. Don Abelson is director of the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government at St. Francis Xavier University.

Senior public servants feel ill-equipped and fearful to provide fearless advice

Michael Wernick, right, then clerk of the Privy Council, and Nathalie Drouin, deputy minister of justice, pictured on March 6, 2019, before the House Justice Committee. Wernick, who resigned over the SNC-Lavalin affair, offered advice to deputy ministers in his book: 'Your most important task is to secure and maintain the trust and confidence of the minister. That doesn’t mean telling ministers what they want to hear. On the contrary, you will want ministers to be confident that you will warn them of upcoming trouble and to trust you to give them the frank advice and full information.' The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Michael Wernick, right, then clerk of the Privy Council, and Nathalie Drouin, deputy minister of justice, pictured on March 6, 2019, before the House Justice Committee. Wernick, who resigned over the SNC-Lavalin affair, offered advice to deputy ministers in his book: 'Your most important task is to secure and maintain the trust and confidence of the minister. That doesn’t mean telling ministers what they want to hear. On the contrary, you will want ministers to be confident that you will warn them of upcoming trouble and to trust you to give them the frank advice and full information.' The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Michael Wernick, right, then clerk of the Privy Council, and Nathalie Drouin, deputy minister of justice, pictured on March 6, 2019, before the House Justice Committee. Wernick, who resigned over the SNC-Lavalin affair, offered advice to deputy ministers in his book: 'Your most important task is to secure and maintain the trust and confidence of the minister. That doesn’t mean telling ministers what they want to hear. On the contrary, you will want ministers to be confident that you will warn them of upcoming trouble and to trust you to give them the frank advice and full information.' The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Michael Wernick, right, then clerk of the Privy Council, and Nathalie Drouin, deputy minister of justice, pictured on March 6, 2019, before the House Justice Committee. Wernick, who resigned over the SNC-Lavalin affair, offered advice to deputy ministers in his book: 'Your most important task is to secure and maintain the trust and confidence of the minister. That doesn’t mean telling ministers what they want to hear. On the contrary, you will want ministers to be confident that you will warn them of upcoming trouble and to trust you to give them the frank advice and full information.' The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade