Federal government appoints panel to review assisted dying but critics fear bias

2015/07/20 1 Comment

For an issue so sensitive to both sides of the debate, a more balanced panel would have been more appropriate:

The panel, announced Friday by Justice Minister Peter MacKay and Health Minister Rona Ambrose, will conduct online consultations with Canadians and “key stakeholders” on possible options to the high court’s ruling. It is to report back to the government by late fall, likely after the October federal election.

The panel will focus on which forms of assisted-dying should be permitted — assisted suicide, where a doctor prescribes a lethal dose of a drug the patient takes herself; and voluntary euthanasia, or death by lethal injection — eligibility criteria and safeguards to protect a doctor’s “freedom of conscience” not to participate against his or her moral or religious objections.

Chochinov’s fellow panellists are disability rights lawyer Catherine Frazee, professor emerita at Ryerson University and former chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and Benoit Pelletier, an expert in constitutional law at the University of Ottawa and former Quebec cabinet minister.

Both Chochinov and Frazee were witnesses for the B.C. government in the original case that eventually made its way to the Supreme Court.

… The B.C. Civil Liberties Association, which filed the original lawsuit that led to the landmark ruling, said the government appointments to the panel hint of bias.

“Two of the three members of the panel were actually witnesses for Canada in the case against physician-assisted dying,” said Josh Paterson, executive director of the civil liberties group.

“They’re people who are deeply engaged in the fight to stop physician-assisted dying from being recognized as a right in Canada.”

“I have nothing but respect for either of them in terms of their credentials, and as individuals. But their majority on the panel does for us raise questions on the appearance of bias. There’s just no getting around it.”

Federal government appoints panel to review assisted dying but critics fear bias

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At one federal department, office pals are risky business

2015/07/18 Leave a comment

Does seem like NRCan has gone overboard:

The survey has been greeted with disbelief, concern, and some anger within an already demoralized workforce, says a civil servant within NRCan. “It starts off pretty reasonably, but then gets into personal items, such as having friends at the office.”

Employment-law specialists express surprise at that personal focus: “It’s more reaching, in terms of questions about friends and family and advocacy than corporate codes of conduct,” says Toronto lawyer Kumail Karimjee, who speculates that inquiries about family and friends could violate human rights codes. Political neutrality is a tenet within civil service—particularly in the top tier, says Karimjee, who used to work for the Ontario government and encountered a similar requirement there. “I had these sorts of political restrictions. I found it a bit over the top, but this strikes me as worse. It’s ‘Give us all this information and we’ll decide.’ ” The focus appears to be on the employee, not on what constitutes conflict and how to navigate it, he says, unlike corporate conflict codes, which spell out conflict-of-interest situations. “This isn’t that,” he says. “It’s saying, ‘You’re on this spectrum.’ ”

For instance, being “an adjunct professor,” or teaching “at a postgraduate level” is “high risk,” whereas teaching at a “postsecondary (but not postgraduate) level” constitutes a “moderate risk.” While the government says this has to do with balancing other commitments, it may come across as a bias against academics. The NRCan spokesperson explains that, “in cases involving adjunct professorships, it’s important for the employee and the manager to agree on details, including time spent in class and preparing course material.”

Wichers-Schreur points out that having a high public profile, including professorships, is directly linked to scientists’ and researchers’ salary and professional reputations: “Things like being an adjunct professor, or having worldwide recognition, or speaking at conferences, plays into how much money they earn and move through the pay grid,” she says. “The higher their level of recognition and productivity, the more value they are—or were, in the old days.” She’s not sure what’s behind the new classifications: “It’s not clear whether the government is trying to control costs through this measure by maintaining a lower level of compensation for research sciences, or whether this is another way of controlling their access to the broader scientific population or the public,” she says.

… Within NCRCan, many see the Employee Confidentiality Report as a waste of time and taxpayers’ money. The mandatory information session is 2½ hours long; filling out the form takes another half-hour, which adds up to more than 11,100 department man hours. In addition, there’s the time managers spend evaluating each form and reporting suspected problems, as well as on interviews with the employees. The erosion of morale could cost even more, says one staffer.

Some wonder if the whole exercise is redundant. “It’s amazing they are evaluating trustworthiness using an email survey, when all of these people have signed an oath to the Queen,” says a former NRCan staffer. “And most research scientists have an enhanced level of security clearance.” He questions the pre-election timing. NRCan is a front line of climate-change policy, he notes: “I’m wondering if this survey is coming up now, because people within the department have the potential to say things that could embarrass the government.” Ironically, now, they don’t have to say anything; the questions raised by the survey speak for themselves.

At one federal department, office pals are risky business – Macleans.ca.

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One-third of public service executives have mentally ‘checked out,’ study suggests

2015/07/16 Leave a comment

Part of this ‘checking-out’  is within the nature of the public service itself: a bureaucratic, hierarchical culture, with divided accountability between the public service and the political level.

Exacerbated, of course, by the distrust between the two, and the general values and ideological divide:

Studies show those who do whatever they can to remove obstacles for employees have highly motivated staff – a phenomenon whose importance is typically underestimated by leaders, according to Dowden.

Dowden said people want to feel like they are making a meaningful contribution and, as long as they are fairly paid, will go the extra mile. The public service historically attracted people who wanted to make a difference, so they came to the job with a strong sense of purpose.

“Leaders and executives in an organization very much want to live their values and when they perceive gaps … or disconnect between values and purpose, that can be incredibly challenging to work through.”

Dowden said autonomy is another key driver of engagement and motivation. In the majority of organizations, executives have the most autonomy, with more control the higher up the chain they move. APEX’s surveys, however, show executives often feel they have little authority and are micromanaged. Surveys found executives feel this lack of control regardless of level, whether Ex 1 or Ex 5.

Autonomy comes almost entirely from the culture created by the direct supervisor. Those who don’t micro-manage and who give workers the freedom to work on projects in the way that suits them – while still being accountable – get the best results.

There are two kinds of micro-managers. The perfectionist – à la Steve Jobs – who have high standards and like control over the projects for which they are responsible.

The more toxic micro-manager seems to have a need for people to know who is charge, gives little autonomy to direct reports, doesn’t accept feedback and gets involved in the minutiae of a project.

The 2014 public service survey gives mixed messages on this front. Generally, employees – including 84 per cent of executives – are satisfied with their direct supervisors and feel they can count on them. They aren’t as positive about senior management, especially when it comes to making “timely and effective” decisions and ensuring critical information flows down to staff.

But Dowden said so much about leadership and management comes down to trust.

The Conservatives have made little secret of their distrust of the public service. Experts, including the Public Policy Forum, have cited the “trust gap” between politicians and public servants as the biggest challenge facing the next generation of leaders.

APEX has also flagged its concern about this relationship and the need to improve “understanding” between the two.

The lack of trust, coupled with the concentration of power and decision-making in the Prime Ministers Office and the Privy Council Office, has intensified the lack of control and authority many executives complain about today.

So while I was fully engaged during most of my time in the public service (and fortunate to have had an interesting career with supportive managers), there are structural limits to the degree of engagement  possible or desirable.

One-third of public service executives have mentally ‘checked out,’ study suggests

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StatsCan takes criticism for cutting funding to LifePaths database

2015/07/15 Leave a comment

Another example of reduced government emphasis on evidence-based approaches:

Former Statistics Canada official Michael Wolfson is criticizing the agency’s decision to stop funding its LifePaths database, saying the program has been essential for researching the long-term impacts of policy decisions.

Mr. Wolfson, a professor at the University of Ottawa who was previously assistant chief statistician at Statistics Canada, has written a new paper on retirement adequacy, which includes comments about his disappointment over the decision to cut funding to the LifePaths database, which he has used in his own work on retirement income.

“As a result, discussion of multibillion-dollar policies – discussions that could be informed by far smaller investments in statistical infrastructure – can now be pursued in ignorance,” he writes.

Statistics Canada stopped supporting the LifePaths modelling tool at the end of 2014, which means the database is not being updated with new data.

Statistics Canada spokeswoman Nadine Lacroix said the resources required to update and maintain the model were too great, and it “was no longer feasible” to continue the program.

She said the agency is developing a new “dynamic socio-economic” modelling tool that will be structured to ensure “sustainability, efficiency and responsiveness to client needs.” Statistics Canada expects to solicit feedback from stakeholders on the proposal next year.

LifePaths is a complex modelling tool developed in the 1990s that contains data on Canadians starting from 1971. It was started during Mr. Wolfson’s time at Statistics Canada to project demographic trends for Canadians decades into the future. It was intended to help shape public policy in numerous areas – including pensions, education and health care – by modelling the impacts of various policy alternatives.

The decision to stop maintaining the model comes amid broader criticisms over cuts to Statistics Canada research, most notably the 2010 decision to eliminate the mandatory long-form census in Canada and replace it with a voluntary survey.

In an interview, Mr. Wolfson said he has not published comments critical of Statistics Canada in the past, and worries he is being disloyal to his former colleagues by speaking out now.

“But I felt it was sufficiently important that I really felt I had to do it,” he said Monday.

StatsCan takes criticism for cutting funding to LifePaths database – The Globe and Mail.

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ADMs have become too insular and inexperienced: study

2015/07/15 Leave a comment

Interesting and relevant study on ADMs by Jim Lahey (disclosure have spoken to his EX2-3 course on the lessons from Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias: Resetting Citizenship and Multiculturalism) and Mark Goldenberg, with relevant thoughts on how to improve their expertise and depth of experience:

Once they have become ADMs, they tend to move from job to job and spend less than two years in a position. Most of those moves are within their own departments.

“ADMs move too much and don’t necessarily make the right moves. ADM churn needs slowing down. They are moving too frequently, and not always making the kinds of moves that can broaden and deepen their knowledge, experience and skills,” said Lahey.

“It is absolutely wrong to have ADMs who are generic managers divorced from policy and content. There has been a kind of managerialization of ADM jobs … bringing those jobs down below what they should be.”

The report offers five areas of reform to “raise the bar” for managing and recruiting these senior executives so they have more responsibility, experience, knowledge and leadership skills. It says future ADMs should be a strategic thinkers and visionary; should focus on results, effectiveness and economy; have strong interpersonal skills; and be able to work collaboratively.

Lahey said the overall executive cadre could be significantly cut but this must be managed slowly while targeting the talent in the lower executive levels to develop for the future. Slashing jobs to delayer is too disruptive; instead, the key is to figure out the roles and responsibilities for each level of management. This means adjusting the expectations of ministers and political staff – which could be tough in an era of mistrust between politicians and bureaucrats.

The report also urged bringing in new blood from outside the public service with external recruits accounting for up to 15 per cent of ADM appointees. It also suggests fast-tracking younger executives in their 30s and 40s so they become ADMs – and DMs – at a younger age and having them stay in the jobs longer before retiring.

The study also suggested ADMs stay in a position at least three years before moving to another. In fact, it argued that staying in the job, mastering it and leadership should be tied to performance pay.

ADMs have become too insular and inexperienced: study | Ottawa Citizen.

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Canada’s public service and the new global normal of change: Lynch

2015/07/13 1 Comment

Former Clerk of the Privy Council Kevin Lynch on the role and challenges for the public service:

The public service plays a core role in our Westminster system of government. It is nonpartisan, it is permanent, serving governments past, present and future, of any political party, with equal loyalty and effectiveness, and its appointments are merit-based. It offers evidence-based policy advice to the government of the day, it administers the policies, programs and regulations approved by Parliament on a nonpartisan basis, and it provides the essential services of government. Given its roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities, a Westminster public service should not be mistaken for an administrative service, nor should it be confused with an American civil service, which is institutionally designed to be partisan and non-permanent at all senior levels.

These same global trends are impacting Canadian public services, both federally and provincially. Demographics—our public services are aging, and recruiting, training and retaining the next generation of public servants, and developing its leaders are a key challenge. The competition for exceptional talent is intensifying, and the public service will be able to attract such talent only if the work environment within government offers the ability to make a difference, help shape policy options and choices, be innovative in service delivery, and do great science. Globalization—a public servant today needs a worldview not a parochial one, an understanding that something happening anywhere in the world can have impacts here in Canada. And technology—innovations in ICT, social media, cloud computing, data analytics and adaptive learning have enormous potential to reshape both the “back office” of government operations and the “citizen-facing” service delivery and interaction functions.

The public service is under stress, both responding to these demographic, globalization and technology pressures and dealing with a challenging governance environment. At a time when Canada faces many longer-term policy issues, there seems to be little demand for public service policy advice. At a time when the private sector is shifting to distributed leadership and entrepreneurship models and risk management, the governance model of the federal government is moving towards ever greater centralization and risk aversion. At a time when attracting and retaining superb talent to the federal public service is facing stiff competition from the private sector here and abroad, there is ambiguity from the government itself about the importance of government and governance to the economy and society in these transforming global times—hardly motivating to prospective public servants. As leading experts on the public service such as Donald Savoie have stressed, the apparent antipathy of the government today toward the public service may have deleterious long term impacts on the public service as an institution.

http://ipolitics.ca/2015/07/09/canadas-public-service-and-the-new-global-normal-of-change/ (paywall)

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Catching up: Stories that caught my interest

2015/07/11 Leave a comment

While I have not been blogging over the past month, I have been following events and these stories and reports caught my eye.

From a general perspective, the Environics Institute latest Focus Canada annual survey showed continued strong support for immigration and multiculturalism, including some notable increases in support (e.g., general support for multiculturalism, reduced fear immigrants not adapting to Canadian values, that immigrants can be as good citizens as Canadian-born) along with increased recognition of discrimination and the need for policies and programs to address it.

Jeffrey Simpson in the Globe reminded us of just how successful the Canadian model of citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism has been.

Citizenship

The Canadian government launched its first revocation proceeding, selecting Hiva Alizadeh as the test case given that he is a dual national of Canada and Iran, was tried and convicted in a Canadian court where he pleaded guilty (avoiding many of the issues raised during C-24 hearings regarding due process in foreign courts).

The remaining provisions of the changes to the Canadian Citizenship Act came into force on June 11, provoking the usual stories about how some were affected by the date chosen (no matter which date was picked, there would always be some affected by the transition. The release of ATIP documents on the Citizenship Act consultations revealed that ethnic groups were particularly concerned about longer residency requirements and increased fees, with some concerned about revocation, and many questioned why advertising was focussed on revocation provisions rather than the changes they were concerned about.

Minister Alexander’s Canada Day message repeated the historic naturalization rate of over 85 percent, despite his department knowing that the recent rate is lower. His conflating of niqab-wearing women with terrorists and his highly selective citing of Liberal government restrictions on immigration and related discriminatory practices were savaged by some commentators.

CIC has yet to provide an explanation for the significant drop (over 30 percent) in the number of citizenship applications in 2013 and 2014 (Full 2014 Citizenship Statistics: Declining Applications).

The Australian government, despite a vigorous internal debate on citizenship revocation, appears committed to a fairly draconian approach, applying to both single and dual nationals and the children of those convicted.

Multiculturalism

The usual Multiculturalism Day messages by political parties, with the Government (Ministers Kenney and Uppal) emphasizing “peaceful pluralism and ordered liberty,” sport and “the values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law” (no mention of human rights), the NDP Multiculturalism Critic emphasizing “tolerance, understanding and equality” and the Liberal Party leader emphasizing “acceptance, fundamental freedoms, and mutual respect.”

The Government reversed a new policy requiring “pat-downs” of turbans, following protests by Canadian Sikhs (likely reflecting their political importance), leaving Minister for State for Multiculturalism Uppal to explain why an exemption for one form of religious headgear (the turban) and not another (the niqab). While there is a difference between covering one’s hair and covering one’s face, ironic that this decision took place in the same month as families of the Air India bombing commemorated the 30th anniversary, the largest terrorist attack in Canadian history with some families noting that some temples have pictures of the Sikh mastermind behind the bombing.

A thoughtful discussion of the challenges health care professionals face in dealing with accommodation requests for different groups, and the processes used to decide what can be accommodated and what not.

Declining support for immigration and multiculturalism post 9/11 and 7/7 in Britain was significant (56 percent in 2015 believe multiculturalism makes Britain worse compared to 32 percent in 2001).

Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Walls notes that Islam is “here to stay in France” while highlighting unacceptable behaviour (antisemitism and hate speech). In addition, despite the formal separation of church and state in France, some have initiated programs to have a more open approach to discussing religion in schools.

In a significant discrimination case, the US Supreme Court ruled that the actual results of policies and programs trumped the intent of these policies, providing a basis for challenging systemic racism and discrimination in future cases.

Canadian antisemitic incidents are reported as rising given B’nai Brith reports (which contrast with Statistics Canada police-reported hate crimes report which show a decline).

An interesting opinion piece that tries to assess the boundary between criticism of Israeli policies and antisemitism provided some nuance to debate on either side of the issue. As Israeli governments provide more support to the Israeli Rabinate, a divide may be emerging between American Jews and Israel.

A good discussion on some of the issues around providing Holocaust education to German Muslims, how it gets tied to the general Israel-Palestine issue, and the efforts by the German government to develop programs to reduce radical Islam by establishing centres for the study of Islam. Meanwhile, the Netherlands postpones the release of a report showing antisemitism among Dutch Muslim youth.

An account of how “trying white food” is part of the experience of children of immigrants, which complements the increased interest by “white people” in ethnic food, highlights one aspect of integration.

Google quickly learns the limits of its image recognition software when its software labels Blacks as gorillas, but quickly deletes the gorilla label as an interim step to ensuring better image recognition. Appears that software too can be subject to implicit bias and should be made to take the Implicit Association Test (IAT).

New Canadian Media held its first workshop for integration and settlement agencies on how to engage the mainstream media in ethnic community issues.

An amusing yet relevant discussion on when multiculturalism advertising can become offensive, using examples from the 1970s (particularly McDonalds and advertising targeted to Black Americans) and some tips to avoid crossing the line.

Following months of wedge and identity politics around Canadian Muslims (the most recent being the Bill tabled just before the House rose banning the niqab at citizenship ceremonies) and the threat of Islamic-inspired extremism, the PM makes a more positive gesture in hosting an Iftar dinner at 24 Sussex.

President Obama delivers one of his best, and arguably one of the best ever, speeches on racism in America and the need for action in his eulogy at the Charleston funeral for those gunned down by a white extremist. Worth taking the time to view in its entirety:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK7tYOVd0Hs

Nell Painter, recapping some of her insights of her book The History of White People, notes that “whiteness” is often defined by what it is not (“blackness”) and that we need to move beyond such binary expressions of identity.

Extremism

A reminder that right wing extremism has been a greater threat in North America than Islamic-inspired extremism provides again a note of nuance to current security and related debates.

A Canadian government-funded study demonstrated that there are various paths to radicalization, showing that despite rhetoric, the Government is sponsoring sociological research.

An interesting counterpoint to ISIS/ISIL’s destruction of non-Islamic (and non-Sunni) monuments can be seen in Israel considering restoring the historic Islamic site of Khirbat al-Minya, the ruins of an Umayyad palace complex on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Immigration

As been mentioned before, and as apparent in the analysis I did for my forthcoming book (Multiculturalism in Canada: Evidence and Anecdote), immigration is becoming increasingly dispersed beyond the larger urban centres, given housing costs and economic opportunities.

An ATIP request indicates profiling and bias in CIC’s review of potential marriage fraud, although the guide has subsequently been revised, with examples highlighting the extensive documentation required.

Following the Toronto police carding debate, and likely other but less high-profile debates elsewhere in Ontario, the Ontario government decides to develop and implement a province-wide policy.

The Quebec government provided fewer resources to organizations delivering integration courses as part of overall austerity measures.

Other immigration stories of interest included accusations of racial profiling of Roma travellers and the effective ending of the live-in-caregiver program and the impact on childcare needs,

Other

Rick Salutin wrote a good piece looking at the history and definitions of “barbaric cultural practices” providing perspective on the current government fetish to use the term for political marketing purposes.

Daniel Savoie had his usual biting commentary of some of the weaknesses of current governments and their apparent inability to deliver programs and policies effectively.

The issue of Saudi financing of Islamic religious schools in Canada was reported on, with little indication that this funding was influencing the curriculum and approach (largely appeared to be for buildings and other infrastructure).

As part of Canada Day reporting, CBC interviewed foreign academics on their views on how Canada was perceived abroad, highlighting their assessment that it had worsened, not surprising given their more centrist and left-wing perspective. The cut to the Canadian Studies Abroad program in 2012 was again lamented.

Sadly, but not surprisingly, the Government does not make any changes to the mandatory Census questions that would improve the quality of the data, and continues with the voluntary NHS approach.

Will be back to my regular posting schedule on Monday.

Filed under Citizenship, Government, Immigration, Multiculturalism

Don Cayo: Policy decisions made without facts can only fall back on whim, bias and ideology

2015/06/08 Leave a comment

More on anecdotes vs. evidence, this time in the context of Vancouver house prices but a broader message by Cayo:

But populism, political pandering, intuition or ideology — call it what you will, the made-up facts that are spewed in so many debates — are always a poor basis for decision-making. Yet we see a heavy reliance on this at every level of government, not to mention with voters every time we go to the polls. And, sadly, we seem doomed to see a lot more.

Every government is prone to ignore relevant data, even when it’s available, or to spin it to favour their ideological or political priorities. And there are lots of gaps in the data they can draw on — like the gaping hole in the Vancouver housing picture that invites us to jump to any conclusion that suits our mood.

Worse, the federal government has been refining this shortcoming. It has launched what looks like a focused assault on the sources of information that could inform debate on myriad issues.

The worst step in this direction was the 2010 decision to scrap the mandatory long-form census. Despite continuing outcries of not just political opponents but also of apolitical researchers and analysts in many important fields, the government won’t budge.

This move didn’t have many immediate consequences, but its effect will multiply over time. Because the response rate to the voluntary replacement for the mandatory long form plummeted from well over 90 per cent in 2006 to less than 70 per cent in 2011, and because most non-responders are from smaller places and poorer segments of society, the resulting data is skewed. It’s no longer reliable enough to do the job it once did: informing intelligent planning and the like.

The result will be more policy debates and decisions driven by ideology, bias or whim, just like Robertson’s and Clark’s conflicting views on housing policy. And no side will be unable to authoritatively back its case or counter the other side’s without trustworthy data.

The list of growing impediments to intelligent debate goes on: Cutbacks to research budgets; the muzzling of federal scientists and other experts with information to contribute; the chill on non-profits, some with considerable expertise, because they fear loss of funding and/or being singled out for audits that seem to be targeting perceived advocates of positions not favoured by the federal government.

Don Cayo: Policy decisions made without facts can only fall back on whim, bias and ideology.

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Mary Campbell: History shows we need a good correctional investigator

2015/06/04 Leave a comment

Former DG of Corrections and Criminal Justice Directorate at Public Safety Canada, Mary Campbell, on the non-reappointment of Howard Sapers, the current correctional investigator:

What is not needed is a “political friend” of the likes of many of this government’s appointments. It’s not just inmates’ safety that depends on this, it’s your safety, ultimately.

Mary Campbell: History shows we need a good correctional investigator | Ottawa Citizen.

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Conservative judges, bureaucracy, Senate a likely constraint on future government: Atkin

2015/06/02 Leave a comment

David Akin on the possible constraints facing an incoming new non-Conservative government, using PM Harper’s 2006 language regarding Liberal constraints on an incoming Conservative government:

“The reality is that we will have, for some time to come, a Liberal Senate, a Liberal civil service, at least at the senior levels where they’ve been appointed by the Liberals, and courts that have been appointed by the Liberals,” Harper said. ”These are obviously checks on the power of a Conservative government. That’s why I say … there is certainly no absolute power for a Conservative government and no real, true majority.”

Though all those checks and balances might seem obvious, the Martin Liberals used this comment by Harper as an attack point, to suggest that, absent all those Liberal judges and bureaucrats, Harper would impose a Conservative revolution on the otherwise peaceable kingdom that was Canada in 2006.

The Liberal attacks were successful to a point: They helped keep Harper’s win to a minority.

But now, more than eight years later, as we look at the polls and consider the possibility of another ideologically driven party, the New Democrats, potentially forming government, it’s useful to consider the wisdom of what Harper said at the end of that 2006 campaign.

Right now, we have a Conservative Senate. There is not a single New Democrat senator. That’s a virtue now for NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair, but it could be a liability if he becomes prime minister and needs a Senate full of Conservatives and Liberals to pass his government’s legislation.

If course, the NDP has vowed to get rid of the Senate altogether. Good luck doing that without your own senators, New Democrats!

What about the civil service? Public sector union bosses might prefer a New Democrat government but an entire generation of leaders and managers in the civil service is now in place that were hand-picked by the Harper Conservatives. The Clerk of the Privy Council — the top bureaucrat among the 257,000 federal bureaucrats — is Janice Charette. She cut her political teeth as a former chief of staff to former Progressive Conservative leader Jean Charest and other PC ministers before going into the ‘non-partisan’ public service.

And then there are those judges. When Harper looked at the Supreme Court in 2006, all he saw was Liberals. But now, if Thomas Mulcair becomes PM and looks at the court, he will see 7 of 9 justices appointed by Harper, one — the Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin — appointed by Brian Mulroney and just one appointed by a Liberal PM.

By Harper’s own logic of 2006, between the Senate, the bureaucracy and the judiciary, there would be much to constrain an NDP government should that happen this fall.

Harper made that point in 2006, was attacked for making it, and won a minority government. Will Mulcair make the same point in this election season with the same effect?

Comments on senior officials is of interest. Suspect some may be vulnerable that have appeared to stray the line (but doubt that Charette would be considered among them).

And of course, as others have argued (and I in my book, Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias: Resetting Citizenship and Multiculturalism), the Harper government distrust of the public service never was fully overcome.

Conservative judges, bureaucracy, Senate a likely constraint on future governmen.

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