How policy is being made under the new Liberal government
One year ago, it was pretty easy to draw a map of power and influence in Ottawa.
All you needed was a pencil and a ruler, and neat, straight lines pointing up and down from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
But the new occupants of that office are making some big changes to the road map of power in Canada. If you are trying to navigate your way through policy-making in the new Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, your journey will take you down many more winding roads.
It’s all a bit of an adjustment for those inside and outside the halls of power who are trying to come up with policy for a government with activist aspirations, and those who are trying to influence policy decisions.
“I tell people who want to see me: have you talked to the minister yet?” says one of Trudeau’s top policy advisers, who prefers to talk off the record. “There’s no sense coming to me unless you’ve seen the minister first.”
“My job lately with clients is to say, point blank: ‘Why do you need to be in front of the PMO?’” says André Albinati, a principal at the Earnscliffe Strategy Group and head of the Government Relations Institute of Canada.
The word is getting around, says Albinati, that policy-making in the new Liberal government neither starts or ends at the PMO. “Absolutely that’s out there…For people interacting with the government, what I’ve been saying is: get ready for that,” says Albinati, who was a political staffer during the Jean Chrétien years.
The switch from Stephen Harper’s strong, central command to Trudeau’s “cabinet government,” which is how insiders ask you to describe it, is still very much a work in progress. The cabinet has heard multiple times from Sir Michael Barber — a veteran of the old Tony Blair government — including at the cabinet retreat in Kananaskis, Alberta, this week. Barber is an expert on what’s called “deliverology” – giving citizens results they can see and measure from their governments on well-defined priorities. The policy branches across government are busy these days adapting to the new normal, reporting regularly to the Privy Council Office (PCO) on now more granular policy objectives. (Matthew Mendelsohn, a former Ontario deputy minister and ex-director of the Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation, is now leading the PCO’s results and delivery unit.)
One question that remains is can any government deliver results without governing from the centre? Centralization in the federal government didn’t happen by accident. As the world got more complicated and demands for accountability grew, politicians responded with sharper, simpler lines of authority and action.
People may have bristled under Harper’s management approach, but it was simple to follow — all power flowed to and from the top. A vivid glimpse of that leadership style was provided in the trial of Senator Mike Duffy and the verdict, as well as the scathing ruling from Justice Charles Vaillancourt. Trudeau has promised to govern very differently. So things are getting a bit more complicated in the new Liberal Ottawa — policy-making is effectively being crowd-sourced. Everyone — from ministers to Commons committees to public servants, even people outside government — is being asked to come up with policy options.
How policy is being made under the new Liberal government - Policy Options
One year ago, it was pretty easy to draw a map of power and influence in Ottawa.
All you needed was a pencil and a ruler, and neat, straight lines pointing up and down from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
But the new occupants of that office are making some big changes to the road map of power in Canada. If you are trying to navigate your way through policy-making in the new Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, your journey will take you down many more winding roads.
It’s all a bit of an adjustment for those inside and outside the halls of power who are trying to come up with policy for a government with activist aspirations, and those who are trying to influence policy decisions.
“I tell people who want to see me: have you talked to the minister yet?” says one of Trudeau’s top policy advisers, who prefers to talk off the record. “There’s no sense coming to me unless you’ve seen the minister first.”
“My job lately with clients is to say, point blank: ‘Why do you need to be in front of the PMO?’” says André Albinati, a principal at the Earnscliffe Strategy Group and head of the Government Relations Institute of Canada.
The word is getting around, says Albinati, that policy-making in the new Liberal government neither starts or ends at the PMO. “Absolutely that’s out there…For people interacting with the government, what I’ve been saying is: get ready for that,” says Albinati, who was a political staffer during the Jean Chrétien years.
The switch from Stephen Harper’s strong, central command to Trudeau’s “cabinet government,” which is how insiders ask you to describe it, is still very much a work in progress. The cabinet has heard multiple times from Sir Michael Barber — a veteran of the old Tony Blair government — including at the cabinet retreat in Kananaskis, Alberta, this week. Barber is an expert on what’s called “deliverology” – giving citizens results they can see and measure from their governments on well-defined priorities. The policy branches across government are busy these days adapting to the new normal, reporting regularly to the Privy Council Office (PCO) on now more granular policy objectives. (Matthew Mendelsohn, a former Ontario deputy minister and ex-director of the Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation, is now leading the PCO’s results and delivery unit.)
One question that remains is can any government deliver results without governing from the centre? Centralization in the federal government didn’t happen by accident. As the world got more complicated and demands for accountability grew, politicians responded with sharper, simpler lines of authority and action.
People may have bristled under Harper’s management approach, but it was simple to follow — all power flowed to and from the top. A vivid glimpse of that leadership style was provided in the trial of Senator Mike Duffy and the verdict, as well as the scathing ruling from Justice Charles Vaillancourt. Trudeau has promised to govern very differently. So things are getting a bit more complicated in the new Liberal Ottawa — policy-making is effectively being crowd-sourced. Everyone — from ministers to Commons committees to public servants, even people outside government — is being asked to come up with policy options.
How policy is being made under the new Liberal government - Policy Options
James Lawrence @Lucas_Ranch 
