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From the Ottawa Citizen 

Gag order - Privy Council Office tightens muzzle on public service for campaign

David Pugliese and Kathryn May, Ottawa Citizen - September 19, 2008

Ottawa - The Privy Council Office has put an unprecedented clamp on government business during the federal election, slowing the workings of the bureaucracy almost to a crawl in some areas.

With marching orders from the PCO, public servants are bowing out of long-scheduled conferences, speaking engagements and meetings with everyone from consumer advocacy groups to industry representatives - all in a bid to avoid making any gaffe, musing or comment that could somehow spill into the hustings and affect an already heated campaign.

"Public servants ... are expected to maintain a low profile during an election and avoid public commentary on any matters that could potentially impact, or be perceived as impacting, on the election,"
said PCO spokeswoman Myriam Massabki.

"The neutrality of the public service is a cornerstone of our democratic system, and heightened vigilance is appropriate during elections."

But as one bureaucrat said, there is such a fear of saying something amiss that departments have opted for the "no-risk strategy of doing nothing."

At the Defence Department, the edict has put a temporary halt to some Canadian Forces equipment projects, although senior military leaders did successfully fight a move by the PCO to shut down recruiting during the campaign.

Defence industry officials say the issuing of contracts for some equipment, usually released on the government's MERX website, have been delayed until after the election.

A closed-door meeting in early October with industry representatives and Defence Department officials on the proposed $500-million purchase of aerial drones has been cancelled. It will be rescheduled after the election.

Other events derailed by the edict won't be as easily made up.

An Ottawa security trade show, set for the end of the month, was cancelled this week after the main speakers, ranging from generals to colonels, declined to show up because of the PCO order.

The Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Canada issued a new release Thursday announcing its exhibition, TechNet North, which was scheduled to take place at Lansdowne Park on Sept.
30 and Oct. 1, had been cancelled.

"This cancellation relates to the federal election currently under way and restrictions placed on senior government officials participating in public conferences," the press release noted.

Companies and attendees are scrambling as military equipment that was to be exhibited at the show is still en route to Ottawa from Europe and other locations.

In addition, eight events at the Canadian War Museum put on by organizations who receive funding from the federal government or had planned to have speakers from the bureaucracy or military have been cancelled.

Military officers, former bureaucrats and those who deal with the government on a regular basis say they have never seen such a sweeping ban.

"This didn't happen during the last election," said John Lawford, a lawyer with the Ottawa-based Public Interest Advocacy Centre which represents consumer groups and conducts consumer research.
"(Bureaucrats) were reticent in making promises but that didn't stop them from meeting."

Alan Williams, a former senior public servant who served more than 30 years in departments ranging from Defence to Public Works to Indian and Northern Affairs, said this is the first time he has seen such a ban.

"I don't recall at anytime such as dramatic shut down" during an election, said Mr. Williams, who retired as the Defence Department's assistant deputy minister for materiel.

"The vast majority of public servants understand their apolitical role and they are very careful about that," he added.

"But to curtail all public activity and conferences for a period of five weeks; what does that say about taxpayers' money being used effectively?"

The edict is even spilling over into efforts to improve the way the government works.

James Lahey, the senior bureaucrat at PCO responsible for public service renewal, backed out this week as the key speaker at a closed meeting of the National Joint Council in Quebec City. The council, which represents federal union and management officials, drew about 150 people.

Michele Demers, the president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of  Canada, said PCO's no-show at the conference that's held for bureaucrats shows how "muzzled" the public service has become under the Harper government.

"It is becoming a sick paranoia," she said. "It's so ridiculous there is no word to describe it. Public servants don't have the right to speak out at the best of times so this muzzling during an election campaign has been taken to the extreme. So now we can't even talk about public service renewal."

It is not clear whether the PCO's ban was developed in conjunction with the Conservatives or whether it was issued by the Privy Council Office on its own.

But Mr. Williams said he is not surprised by the PCO edict. It follows a trend in the Conservative government to tightly control information and limit public access to senior department officials, he added. "I think it's sad because you would think there would be more confidence in bureaucrats," Mr. Williams said. "Canadian citizens expect more and deserve more, especially from senior public servants."

During an election campaign and all communication is typically kept to minimum.

The written directive provided by PCO says that during an election "the government acts with restraint, confining itself to necessary public business - continuing to communicate on matters that are routine, non-controversial, and urgent and in the public interest."

That means no press releases, policy announcements or federal advertisements. Media calls on stories that could potentially erupt into election campaign issues are not returned - unless they concern key issues of public health and safety.

Many longtime bureaucrats say the restrictions they face are no different than other campaigns, but what's different this time, they say, is the climate of fear and the strained relationship between bureaucrats and the Harper government. They argue the normal restraints of an election are "being over applied" by a bureaucracy that has already been "muzzled and gagged for two years."

Another big difference is that senior bureaucrats were typically counselled to use their judgment or common sense on what to do during an election campaign. This time the message is more absolute - "don't take chances," said one official.

"I find it quite pathetic that this government finds a way at every turn to put on the clamp," said John Gordon president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. "It has been building and building and now it's at the worst I have seen."

One senior bureaucrat said public servants have become "ultra sensitive" to information handed out during an election since the Mounties decided to announce their investigation into the income trust in the middle of the 2005 campaign. That announcement was seen as a turning point in the campaign that brought Stephen Harper's Conservatives to power.