Book Launch: A New Blueprint for Government: Reshaping Power, the PMO, and the Public Service
Date
Thursday November 6, 202512:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Location
Robert Sutherland Hall Room 202Join Kevin G. Lynch and James R. Mitchell for the launch for their new book, A New Blueprint for Government: Reshaping Power, the PMO, and the Public Service (University of Regina Press, 2025).
The discussion will be moderated by Margaret Biggs, SPS Matthews Fellow in Global Public Policy.
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ABSTRACT: Is the Canadian government contributing to its own underperformance? An insider’s guide to steering our nation toward greater efficiency. Canada is struggling. Our growth is anemic, our standard of living is stagnant, our housing is unaffordable, and our health care system is nearing a breaking point. To make matters worse, the government fails to deliver core services and avoid management fiascos like the ArriveCan and Phoenix scandals. These failures are systemic and interconnected. What connects them is a fatal flaw in how the federal government operates, makes decisions, and takes action. Power has shifted from Cabinet to the Prime Minister and Prime Minister’s Office, with political staff taking on a larger role relative to the Public Service, and parliament has lost its ability to call the elected government to account. With 50 years of combined experience in leadership positions in government, authors Lynch and Mitchell offer an expert’s perspective on how to restore accountability and rebuild a culture of excellence by proposing a new blueprint for reshaping government. As Canadians face uncertainties at home and abroad, these practical and straightforward recommendations offer a path forward to ensure our nation’s prosperity. |
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KEVIN LYNCH, who hails from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, started his career at the Bank of Canada. This led to a 33-year career in government that included leadership roles as Clerk of the Privy Council, Deputy Minister of Finance, and Deputy Minister of Industry. Post government, Dr. Lynch served as Vice Chair of BMO, was active on numerous corporate and not-for-profit boards, and still writes and speaks frequently on public policy issues. |
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JAMES (JIM) MITCHELL, who was raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, has worked as an academic, a senior public servant, and a consultant. He served 17 years in government, first as a diplomat and then as a senior official in the Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board Secretariat. Over the years he has published articles on public policy and public management and has given numerous lectures and speeches to Public Service and university audiences. |
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MARGARET BIGGS is a Matthews Fellow in Global Public Policy at Queen’s University and a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution. She is the former President of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and immediate past Chair of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Ms. Biggs is active on numerous not-for-profit boards in the foreign policy and governance fields. |