Bill Turpin, one of the few Nova Scotians who has both edited a daily newspaper editor and worked as a civil servant, disagrees with my criticism of Evan Solomon for addressing cabinet ministers as "Minister." The use of "Minister" by bureaucrats is not deferential. It's good form used for good reason. The term is a reminder to both parties that they are engaged in a special relationship. It reminds the Minister that she is not merely a politician, but also someone whose job is to direct the civil service in the best interests of the people. It reminds bureaucrats their jobs...

30 October, 2011
Talk to almost anyone in the federal civil service, and before long, they'll bemoan the way Harper has  concentrated power in the Prime Minister's office. If Pierre Trudeau viewed backbenchers as "nobodies," Harper appears to lump cabinet ministers and senior civil servants in the same contemptible category. The Toronto Star's James Travers recently called for "a saint to roll back all the power hoarded in the PMO." In today's Hill Times, W.T. Stanbury, retired professor of Commerce and Business Administration at UBC, proposes seven steps for doing so. Quotes after the jump.
06 July, 2009