A New Promotions System: The 6.0 Solution
In a move that has caught many observers off-guard, the Department of External Affairs and International Trade and the Canadian Ice Skating Federation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding exchanging their rating systems.
From the President’s Desk // Le mot du président
I had intended to write a positive message in my first column as PAFSO President. Events of the past few days, however, make necessary a new approach. The decision arrived at in secret to move the Social Affairs stream to the Department…
The Domino Effect
The “Word” percolates to the masses in mysterious ways.
The State, Business and Industrial Change in Canada
Except for the discussion a year or two ago about a Federal Business Development Bank loan program for strip clubs, we have not heard much about industrial policy lately. It was different back in the 1970s, when a great deal of political…
Whither the Canadian Foreign Service?
The Canadian Foreign Service will not survive as an effective instrument of national interest if current trends persist. After a glance at the past and a shudder for the present, possible solutions for the future are suggested.
Solidarity
PAFSO’s annual cycle of re-election and renewal occurs every year in early October at our Annual General Meeting (AGM). It is always a sign of our members’ confidence in PAFSO when there are more nominees than vacancies on the Executive. PAFSO only…
When the Music Stops!
A strike brings out a number of sensitive issues in addition to the major point over which it is called, and the public service strike last fall certainly revealed a dark side at this Department.
Political Rights for Public Servants: “A Delicate Balance”
The issue of political rights for public servants has long been a matter of considerable debate resulting primarily from two competing philosophies. On the one hand, the tradition of a politically neutral and impartial public service is viewed as an essential component…
Parallel Lives
[J.W. Pickersgill and Escott Reid both enjoyed illustrious careers as public servants. Pickersgill at the right hand of Prime Ministers Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent before he became a Minister of the Crown, and Reid through 25 years at External Affairs.…
In Defence of Diversity: Towards the Legitimization of Dissent
The lack of an established channel through which dissenting analysis might reach decision-makers has been highlighted repeatedly in the recent past, most strikingly, in the wake of the Gulf crisis. While it is clearly important that the Department, and indeed the government,…
