Can ideas from the past help to invent a better future? In this part-memoir and part-guide, Jocelyne Bourgon explores this central question through the representation of her noteworthy career and professional life.
A Public Servant’s Voice presents Bourgon’s reflections on her time in government. As the first woman clerk of the privy council for Canada, secretary to cabinet, and head of the public service from 1994 to 1999, Bourgon brings an unprecedented perspective to public administration and public sector reform. She reflects on decades of work in the public sector and the field of public administration, in Canada and abroad. This book covers her career from her first days as a public servant to creating A New Synthesis of Public Administration to face the challenges of the 21st century. Along the way she played a key role in the Charlottetown negotiations, helped bring Canada a decade of fiscal surplus, launched initiatives to strengthen the public service, and worked with peers around the world.
Providing a public service perspective on events in Canada in the late 20th century steeped through the life of one public servant, this book is more than a memoir. Instead, it speaks specifically to those who are willing to take on the heavy burden of serving their fellow citizens and provides vital insights for the future of Canadian governance.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments and Introduction
Part 1: The Public Servant
1. Discovering Public Service
2. A Public Service Manager
Part 2: The Deputy Minister
3. Becoming Deputy Minister: Consumer and Corporate Affairs
4. Canada is Calling: The Charlottetown Accord
5. From CIDA to Transport
Part 3: The Clerk
6. And So … I Became Clerk
7. Regaining Canada’s Fiscal Sovereignty
8. The 1995 Referendum
9. The Head of the Public Service
10. A Public Service Reform Agenda
11. Moving On: The Canadian Centre for Management Development
Part 4: Working Abroad
12. The International Public Servant
13. A New Synthesis of Public Administration
Conclusion: Back Where It Began
About the Author :
The Honourable Jocelyne Bourgon, PC, OC is the founding president of Public Governance International and president emeritus of the Canada School of Public Service. She had a distinguished career in the public service, including as the first woman secretary to cabinet for federal-provincial relations under Prime Minister Mulroney’s government and the first woman clerk of the privy council for Canada under the government of Prime Minister Chrétien.
Review :
“The name Jocelyne Bourgon is destined to be cited in the pages of Canada’s history. A Public Servant’s Voice lifts the veil on an exceptional career. More than that, though, it sheds light on the lived life of senior public servants in Ottawa with striking candour and with rich insights. It is destined to be, like its author, incontournable.” - Patrice Dutil, Professor of Politics and Public Administration, Toronto Metropolitan University
“Rich with insight, deep experience, and courage, Jocelyne Bourgon’s A Public Servant’s Voice shares wisdom drawn from a career dedicated to institutional excellence, developing public executives and researching innovative and collaborative new practices. In these challenging times, Bourgon's unwavering commitment to the collective interest and unique leadership provide a powerful blueprint and a renewed sense of hope for the future of effective governance.” - Helena Kerr do Amaral, Professor, IBGC (Brazilian Corporate Governance Institute) and former President, ENAP (Brazilian National School of Public Administration)
"Jocelyne Bourgon has had an extraordinary career as a leader and thinker in public service. In this book, Madame Bourgon describes her contributions at critical moments in Canadian history and the evolution of her ideas about governance, administrative reform, and service to citizens. This book is an invaluable resource for practitioners and scholars as Canada faces another hinge moment in its national development." - Alasdair Roberts, Professor of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Amherst
“Jocelyne Bourgon is one of the giants of Canadian public administration. One of the youngest Deputy Ministers in history. The first female Clerk of Canada’s Privy Council. One of Canada’s brightest lights in contributions to international public administration. Now with the publication of A Public Servant’s Voice, we get to see why she is a mandarin in the best sense of that word. Read this book to learn about some of the most pivotal moments of Canadian history. From one of the most consequential actors of that formative epoch.” - Taki Sarantakis, President, Canada School of Public Service
“Jocelyne Bourgon continues her extraordinary service to Canada by sharing this look back on her remarkable career in a book that is full of insights and advice. A must-read for those who are curious about how the public sector works and anyone who cares about its future.” - Michael Wernick, 23rd Clerk of the Privy Council and Jarislowksy Chair in Public Sector Management, University of Ottawa
