THE OTTAWA CITIZEN: Define roles of politicians, public service in Constitution: professor
Canada's Constitution should be opened to rein in the power of prime ministers who rule like monarchs surrounded by a tight circle of courtiers, a leading scholar on public administration says.
Donald Savoie, a political economist at the University of Moncton, said Canada's political institutions are so broken that the role of the prime minister, ministers and the public service should be defined in the Constitution, rather than by unwritten constitutional conventions that haven't been working for years.
"There are no effective checks and balances from cabinet, the civil service or Parliament to protect prime ministers from grabbing power and abusing it," he said. "We now need to go farther and define in law the role of prime minister, ministers and the civil service."
He said the convention of the loyal and anonymous public servant is long gone and the time has come to give public servants the "personality" and the independence they need to say no to their political masters when pulled into the political arena. Time to Stop Prime Ministers From Ruling Like Kings, Expert Says >>> By Kathryn May | May 5, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Canada)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback – Canada)
