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RICHARD JONES john@promotivemedia.ca Publisher’s Mail Agreement: 40052410 ISSN 1203-7893 Canadian Government Executive magazine is published 6 times per year by Navatar Press. All opinions expressed herein are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or any person or organization associated with the magazine. Letters, submissions, comments and suggested topics are welcome, and should be sent to lori@promotivemedia.ca REPRINT INFORMATION Reproduction or photocopying is prohibited without the publisher’s prior written consent. High quality reprints of articles and additional copies of the magazine are available through circulation@promotivemedia.ca. Privacy Policy: We do not sell our mailing list or share any confidential information on our subscribers. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. www.canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca 4 / Canadian Government Executive // Spring 2023 WEB EDITOR’S NOTE This issue of Canadian Government Executive features superbly written articles on how digital technology can make government and its services better. As always, we are grateful to our regular contributors, to those who are writing with us for the first time, and to our readers for making Canadian Government Executive a vibrant community where ideas, best practices, and lessons learned are exchanged. I want to take this opportunity to raise awareness about our upcoming conference: the DX Summit. This will be the third annual Summit and the first time that we can hold it face to face. The event will be in Ottawa this year, dates to be determined. The key themes for the conference include leadership and trust in government; the truth about government outsourcing; the transition to a greener economy; and the future of work in the public service. We sincerely hope you will join us at the event. Please stay tuned for details about registration and speakers. I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to acknowledge the debate happening currently on the issue of foreign interference in Canadian democracy. This topic is not new, though its prominence in political discourse has been heightened in recent weeks due to allegations of foreign interference in electoral processes in the Toronto riding of Don Valley North. The Liberal government has asked former Governor General David Johnston to act as a “special rapporteur” responsible for looking into foreign interference in the last 2019 and 2021 elections and make recommendations on how to improve and fortify democracy. His mandate is “wide”, according to the press release from the Prime Minister’s Office, and the government has pledged to follow his recommendations. Dr. Johnston’s appointment has been embraced by some and denounced by others. He is an eminent Canadian who has served his country in many capacities, including as Governor General – the highest office in the land. He is a constitutional law expert and was the Leaders’ Debate Commissioner. However, his independence from the Trudeau government is in question and, should those concerns continue to resonate, the whole exercise could be undermined. The Conservatives point to a personal relationship between Johnston and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and their families. Further, Johnston has been a member of the Trudeau Foundation, which received a donation with an alleged link to the Chinese government. There are many factors that affect an appointment like this, including the qualification, credentials, and integrity of the appointee. No one is disputing any of these in Dr. Johnston’s case. But questions around his independence from government could make these factors seem less relevant. All of that said, Dr. Johnston has been trusted by governments of different partisan stripes to offer independent advice. He was appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to set the parameters for the Oliphant Commission, which investigated the business dealings between former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and businessman Karlheinz Schreiber. This experience is germane to the task ahead of him now. Similar to the Mulroney-Schreiber affair, the issue of foreign interference is easily divisible into two phases. Johnston decided that the Oliphant Commission should study the facts of the relationship and, separately, the state of the political ethics regime in Canada. He could take a similar approach to the foreign interference issue and recommend a detailed analysis into the events of the 2019 and 2021 elections and, on a parallel track, a broader inquiry into the state of democracy in Canada and its capacity to fend off attacks. If the latter does not occur in some form, it will be a serious loss for Canada. We are long overdue for a national discussion on how our democracy does and does not work. Regardless of what form his relationship with Prime Minister Trudeau takes, Dr. Johnston is a very appropriate choice to lead this conversation. We need to talk about how to recognize disinformation and other forms of civic malfeasance so that we are a more mature democracy capable of standing up to threats, both foreign and domestic. This is an exercise for all of us. Dr. Lori Turnbull Deputy Editor, Canadian Government Executive
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