The role of public service executives
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Scenario: A Member of the House of Assembly has just been appointed as a cabinet minister. The Clerk of the Executive Council, who is head of the public service and Secretary to Cabinet, visits the Minister to provide a briefing.
Clerk: Good morning, Minister. Congratulations on your appointment. I trust you are settling in and you’ve met your deputy minister.
Minister: Yes, but this world of governing is new to me. I know how caucus works, and the House of Assembly, but the inner workings of government are somewhat mysterious.
Clerk: Well, that is why I am visiting you. I meet with each minister after their appointment to cabinet to explain the procedures around cabinet decisionmaking and the expectations we have for senior public servants, who are the executive team of your department.
Minister: Excellent! Take me through it.
Clerk: There are two essential ministerial roles. You are accountable to the House of Assembly for the activities of your department, and you are the sponsor of proposals to the cabinet from your department. In both roles the deputy minister and senior staff will provide support. They will aid you in pursuing the mandate provided by the premier, and they will help you manage your democratic responsibilities.
Minister: The deputy minister and other senior staff seem quite capable, but they were appointed under previous governments. Can I trust them?
Clerk: Minister, our system of government includes the expectation that all public servants are appointed on merit and serve in a non-partisan manner. Most have served governments of both political stripes. Their promotion to senior levels is based on demonstrated ability to deliver the mandate of the elected government of the day.
Minister: But we have a “change” agenda. How can they switch perspective so quickly?
Minister: Their performance is judged on turning the government’s mandate into reality. They will provide you with advice, including alternatives on how to implement your mandate. Their advice will bring out both the challenges and the opportunities with each alternative. The results are always better if you work as a team.
Minister: Is my whole senior team made up of career public servants? Is that a wise thing?
Clerk: While it is true that most public service executives are promoted from within government, we do hire from other sectors as well. Some are subject experts and some have private-sector management experience. All appointments are ultimately made by the premier. The key is that your departmental senior team can quickly establish your trust and use their experience and networks to start implementing the government’s agenda
Minister: How do I get my proposals turned into cabinet decisions?
Clerk: Cabinet decisions start with a ministerial memorandum to cabinet. This memorandum is prepared by your senior staff under your direction, with a prescribed standard for the analysis and recommendations. Once submitted it is analyzed by the Cabinet Secretariat staff and placed on a cabinet committee agenda where you will discuss it with your colleagues. Then it proceeds to full cabinet where the premier will ask you to defend your recommendations. Your executive team can help you to be well prepared to argue your case. Some members of your team have also served in other departments and central agencies, so they can help you manoeuvre through the system.
Minister: What about the House of Assembly?
Clerk: You represent the government in the House when it is sitting, and you will have the support of your deputy minister and staff. This includes Question Period and the sponsorship of legislation. Your senior staff will brief you about departmental activities that could arise during Question Period, and they will prepare notes on legislation to help you defend the provisions of a bill.
Minister: For Question Period, can they advise me on political questions?
Clerk: There is a dividing line that is sometimes hard to define, but you and your DM will find that line without a problem. Essentially it is your political responsibility to assess how to respond to partisan questions. But to the extent that such responses include information about departmental activities, your public service staff will provide briefings as required.
Minister: Why aren’t all these things written down somewhere? You would expect clear rules about senior public servants that we’d all know before being appointed to cabinet.
Clerk: Good observation. Some parts of government operate by norms rather than rules. I wish everyone had a better appreciation of non-partisan public service executives. This institution facilitates democratic government. It’s a bedrock of stability and continuity when governments change. Senior bureaucrats are duty-bound to implement the agenda of the new government. Sometimes there are initial doubts about loyalty and trust, but the ministers usually value the experience of the executive team and appreciate the headaches avoided through good advice. The role of the senior public servants at the juncture of the political world and the public service world is critical, and the norms under which they operate should be protected and reinforced. Too often they work in the shadows. A better understanding of these norms will make for a better democratic system.
About the Author Robert Thompson (Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association) is currently the executive director of the NLMA, the voice of organized medicine in Newfoundland and Labrador. He spent 31 years as a public servant in the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, including seven years as Clerk of the Executive Council and Secretary to Cabinet, as well as serving as deputy minister in three departments.