Maryantonett Flumian

Wayne Smith is a life-long public servant. He has dedicated his life to serving the people of Canada through a distinguished career at Statistics Canada. We can celebrate his good work and the accomplishments of the world-class organization that he used to run. The excellent institution that Canadians are so proud of was built through the hard work of generations of StatsCan employees and leaders.

When the government of Stephen Harper took office on February 6, 2006, “accountability” defined the spirit of the times. The prime minister renamed his ministerial playbook Accountable Government, and the new government’s first order of business was a promised Federal Accountability Act (FedAA). The government described the Act as its signature legislation, and within a year most of its elements were in place. Now, who could be against accountability?

While the pundits have mostly completed their prognostications regarding the new government’s fortunes in the year ahead, in the area of public governance many challenges still lie in wait for the Trudeau Liberals that could have an impact on the success of their agenda. Our new prime minister has placed a good deal of emphasis on the open and collaborative style that his government plans to pursue — the celebrated “sunny ways”.