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The PMO is the place where partisan political concerns and the processes of governing meet most directly.30 _{The institutional interests of the PMO are identical to those of}

the prime minister. The people who work in the PMO are described in the terminology of the Government of Canada as “exempt staff.” This label reflects the fact that they are appointed and serve at the pleasure of the prime minister. Unlike for career public servants the recruitment, appointment, compensation, promotion, and termination of PMO employees are not subject to the rules of the Public Service Commission, which oversees the operation of the merit system for the regular public service. Exempt staff serving the prime minister might be described as “public servants” in the broadest sense of that term because they do play a legitimate role in the policy process, they are paid from money approved by Parliament, and administrative support of various kinds is supplied to them by other parts of government. However, in contemporary debates over the alleged concentration of power in the hands of the prime minister, employees of the PMO are typically referred to as “political staff” or “prime ministerial advisers,” labels that, in the current cynical era, have less positive connotations than the title of public servant.

The PMO plans and organizes the public life of the prime minister, including

29 Gordon Robertson, “The Changing Role of the Privy Council Office” (winter 1971) 14(4) Canadian Public

Administration 487–508, at 506.

30 On the evolution of the PMO see Marc Lalonde, “The Changing Role of the Prime Minister’s Office” (winter 1971) 14(4) Canadian Public Administration 509–37; Thomas S. Axworthy, “Of Secretaries to Princes” (summer 1988) 31(2) Canadian Public Administration 247–64; Donald J. Savoie, Governing from the Centre; Graham White, Cabinets and First Ministers, chap. 3.

schedule, links to the party apparatus, preparations for Parliament, especially Question Period, interactions with the media, and those parts of his correspondence that are “political” in nature. More on this last function is said later. The PMO also advises on major policy issues and priorities and on the several thousand appointments made by cabinet on the recommendation of the prime minister. The PMO generally serves as a listening post and gatekeeper, determining which “political” matters will be brought to the attention of the prime minister and ensuring that the prime minister’s political and policy directions for government are translated into action by the permanent bureaucracy.

Although there can be tensions between political advisers and non-partisan public servants, it is generally accepted that both kinds of advice are required and valuable. Both political staff in the PMO and public servants in the PCO recognize that political and administrative considerations are often intertwined and can never be completely disentangled. This awareness leads to the further recognition by both groups that they must understand the other’s role and avoid working in isolation from each other. The closeness or distance of the PMO-PCO relationship depends greatly on how the leadership of the two offices understand, relate to, and trust each other.

At various times since its emergence as a power centre in the late 1960s under Prime Minister Trudeau, the role of the PMO has shifted from a strong “policy advisory” role, to more of a “switchboard” function directing activity and communications, to more of a role of “strategic management” directing the implementation of the key priorities of the prime minister.31 _{Even though they are controversial, exempt political}

staff members play a legitimate and crucial role. They can provide valuable insights, which can improve policy formulation by adding a political dimension. They can protect public servants by carrying out work that may raise doubts about public service neutrality. They are indispensable in managing the demands on the time and the attention of prime ministers and ministers. They are here to stay and, regardless of their decisions and actions, they are likely to remain the targets of criticism.

The following discussion of the role of the PMO staff in the communications and correspondence processes at the centre of government is not focused in depth on a particular PMO at a given point in time; instead, a more general analysis of the institution is presented. It is important to remember that the role of the PMO can vary somewhat, depending on such factors as the leadership philosophy and style of the prime minister; the issues before the government during a particular period of time; and the wider political context, such as whether there is a majority or minority government in office and whether an election is imminent. To help develop a composite picture of the communications environment in the PMO, interviews were conducted with former political staff who served three different prime ministers.

The person presiding over the PMO has at times been called the principal secretary

oLIPHAnt CoMMIssIon: InDePenDent ReseARCH stUDIes

and more recently the chief of staff. In the current PMO serving Prime Minister Harper, a chief of staff is in overall charge, but there is also a principal secretary; this was also the case in the previous PMO serving Prime Minister Martin. Whatever the title, the top position in the PMO is crucial because that individual works more closely than anyone else with the prime minister. There are both advisory and managerial dimensions to the top job. The chief of staff / principal secretary advises on politics, policy, and management; promotes and protects the interests of the prime minister across a wide range of issues; and negotiates with other powerful actors to move the prime minister’s agenda forward. As manager, the head of the PMO, with the approval of the prime minister, organizes the office, selects staff, and protects the time and attention of the prime minister by controlling the flow of people, paper, and information. In this last role, the head of the PMO must ensure that all relevant information is received and that all relevant viewpoints are represented. The job of ensuring that the prime minister is adequately informed is shared with the clerk of the privy council, who normally has equal access to the prime minister for this purpose. A close working relationship based on trust between the principal secretary and the clerk is necessary to ensure that the prime minister has the full intelligence and range of perspectives needed to do his job well.

The size of the PMO has fluctuated over the years since the late 1960s, from a low of approximately 70 staff to a high of approximately 120 staff. In 2008–09, approximately 80 people work in the PMO. Probably half these people perform administrative support and secretarial services, including the handling of “political” correspondence, which is passed forward from the PCO. Beneath the chief of staff / principal secretary, there is a deputy chief of staff and a number of director positions covering such areas as priorities and planning, strategy, policy, issues management, communication, touring, and personnel. There are also two press secretaries and a number of advisers/assistants.

The budget for the PMO is integrated with the budget of the PCO, so it is difficult to identify the cost of the political support to the prime minister. A PCO breakdown of its costs for 2006–07 identified financial and administrative support to the PMO and the offices of other portfolio ministers as $27 million.32 _{As a central agency serving}

the prime minister, the PMO is large compared with similar offices in other cabinet- parliamentary systems. It has been described as “the largest concentration of highly paid partisan political advice found in any one place in Ottawa.”33 _{Unlike in Australia}

and the United Kingdom, where prime ministers rely on permanent public servants in their immediate offices, this occurrence is rare in Canada. “Career officials” working in a prime minister’s office, writes Donald J. Savoie, “are much more likely than politically appointed officials to view issues in terms of the government rather than in the interests of the prime minister.”34 _{Criticism of the PMO is strongest when the office is seen as} 32 Canada, Departmental Performance Report, Privy Council Office and Public Appointments Commission

Secretariat, 2006–2007, 9.

33 Donald J. Savoie, Governing from the Centre, 101. 34 Ibid.

more pervasive and controlling in its approach to pushing the prime minister’s agenda forward. Clearly, a PMO of 80 people, perhaps half of them in administrative roles, is no match in terms of policy expertise for line departments. The PMO does not administer programs directly, so it has to rely on others to implement its ideas.

As a former principal secretary to Prime Minister Trudeau wrote, the PMO is “not the White House North.” It is an important power centre, he went on to write, “but it has predominant sway on very few matters, perhaps only the leader’s schedule and appointments.”35 _{This is probably an unduly modest assessment, but it is a useful}

counterweight to the popular image of the PMO as a secretive, controlling, all-powerful centre of decision making.