President’s Corner: Excerpts from the Ottawa Citizen on the Fall Session and the Impact of Austerity

September 10, 2025

In the Monday, September 8 Ottawa Citizen, I reflected on what is shaping up to be a fascinating fall session of Parliament. Or, as I labelled it, must-see CPAC-tv. In particular, it will be interesting to see how the House settles into its new equilibrium with only 3 officially recognized parties — and only 2 with support from more than one province.

One subject that I did not raise in the article (but also bears watching) is how the Leader of the Opposition triangulates between his important House role and the upcoming review of his leadership in late-January 2026. He will aim to showcase his leadership of the government in waiting throughout the fall session, but this may be one instance where the Leader of the Opposition is equally under the gun in Parliament as Mr. Poilievre tries to impress linked but separate audiences in the form of Conservative partisans and Canadians generally.

Also in the Monday, September 8, Ottawa Citizen was an article by Matteo Cimellaro on young people and the public service. Full disclosure, I was interviewed for the article and his thoughtful interview got me thinking. Austerity may be necessary but it can be undeniably tough on public servants. Sure, there are some who will flourish by delivering and facing up to this challenge with compassion, creativity, and professionalism. They are to be commended.

The general scene within the public service may feel decidedly different. If a rising tide lifts all boats then an ebbing tide strands some vessels. Newcomers, both those in the junior ranks and those who may find it difficult to get in at all, tend to bear a disproportionate impact. As necessary as austerity may be, it is important for, particularly students or term employees who don’t get renewed, to understand that this is not on them. If they get caught up in downsizing, then they are the victims of circumstance.

There are lots of ways to serve the public and only a fraction of them involve being formally part of the federal public service. Yet, if someone’s goal is to be a public servant but they are having trouble getting or staying in, then I hope that they do not give up.

The federal government is seen as singular, but it is really plural. There are over 300 organizations that make up the federal public service. Most of them consist of many distinct and separate parts. So, maybe it means going to a place you never thought of working at before, or maybe it means parking yourself outside the formal public service for a while until the dust clears, or maybe it means taking time now to further upgrade your education. None of these may be ideal outcomes, but they could be resilient ones in an environment of austerity.