Appearing Before a Parliamentary Committee

Description

This hands-on course equips senior public servants with practical skills for testifying before Parliamentary committees. Led by experienced professionals, it features mock-testimony sessions, real-life case studies, and interactive exercises, providing participants with the confidence and tools to excel in committee appearances.

Learning Objective

Senior public servants are often summoned to testify before a House of Commons or Senate committee. This is an essential part of the accountability role the executive branch of government must perform with Parliament. Our half-day customized training course is designed to give you and your colleagues a strong basis of preparation and confidence for testifying in front of a Parliamentary Committee.

• Describe the nature and purpose of MCs and how they fit in government decision-making
• Describe the Cabinet process/audience and how this drives MC development
• Approach MC content development
• Situate your role within your department and participate effectively
• Leave with practical tips/best practices in preparation and lessons learned from colleagues

Course Content:

• How Parliamentary committees work
• The roles of the committee chair, clerk, and both government and opposition MPs
• The accountability of ministers and public servants to Parliament
• The procedures and politics of committee appearances
• How to testify, what to say, and how best to say it
• Practical guidance and tips for a successful committee appearance

The IOG advantage

• You will be taught by former senior public servants who have actual committee testimony experience
• You will hear ‘how it really works’ from either a sitting government or opposition MP or a recently retired MP
• You will engage in an interactive mock-testimony session in a committee format with your colleagues
• You will watch an actual case study testimony, dissected for you to show the real-life dynamics of committee testimony

Who should take this course

• ADMs, DGs, and senior EX-level public servants who may be called upon to testify before a Parliamentary committee as part of their responsibilities
• Parliamentary affairs units and officials involved in preparing departmental colleagues for committee appearances
• Communications officials who must prepare or respond to committee appearances by departmental colleagues
• Political staffers who may be called to testify

Duration:

• 4 hours, including brief intervals to maintain participant engagement and enhance learning absorption.

Facilitators

Mr. François Gagnon served as Vice-President of the Learning Lab at the IOG for 6 years. He brings rich experience in the area of public sector learning and leadership.  

Mr. Gagnon worked in the Public Service of Canada for 25 years, including 13 years as executive. He had the privilege to organize national ministerial consultations, to negotiate international and federal-provincial agreements and to lead national Grants and Contribution programs. At the Canada School of Public Service, he developed a change management and coaching practice. As Senior Director of Leadership Development, he led and oversaw the review of the entire suite of the School’s Leadership Development products for the Government of Canada. 

In 2014, Mr. Gagnon founded Lead-Action, a firm specialized in Leadership Development. He joined the Institute on Governance in 2019 where he has been using his knowledge and expertise to build on the IOG’s strong reputation in this area. 

Mr. Gagnon has a Degree in Computer Science and a Masters in Project Management during which he specialized in Leadership and Change Management. Over the last 20 years, he was lecturing in Leadership and Change at the University of Ottawa and Université du Québec en Outaouais. He completed required certifications to teach and administer a large range of psychometric instruments including products from the Center for Creative Leadership, Insights Discovery and two emotional intelligence instruments. He has facilitated and has managed the delivery of a large number of Leadership Development products and courses, including organizational 360-degree feedback processes and executive coaching in a large number of organizations in Canada and abroad. Mr. Gagnon was also invited to teach Leadership and Change Management at the University of Moscow and at the Russian Academy of Public Administration and has led the development of a Leadership Development program for Deputy Ministers of the Government of Ukraine. Through his work at Lead Action, he also contributed to leadership development projects in Indonesia, Belize and Mexico. 

In addition to his professional activities, Mr. Gagnon holds a Private Pilot license and is a classically trained pianist who performs regularly in the region. 

Mr. Daniel Jean served as the Prime Minister of Canada's National Security and Intelligence Advisor (2016-2018). Prior to this role, he held positions as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (2013-2016) and Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage (2010-2013). From 2007 to 2010, he held various important deputy ministerial posts, first as Associate Secretary of the Treasury Board and then as Deputy Secretary (Operations) at the Privy Council Office.

Before his appointment as deputy minister, Daniel had a stimulating career in international relations and migration issues in Canada and abroad, with two assignments in Haiti, two separate assignments in the United States, in Buffalo then Washington, and one in Hong Kong. He received an Excellence Award from the Public Service and a Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers Award for his efforts following the coup that removed Haiti's first democratically elected government in 1991.

Daniel is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo with an M.B.A. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Ottawa, where he earned a B.A. in Social Sciences with a specialization in International Relations and a concentration in Economics. He is a Professional-in-Residence at the University of Ottawa's School of Public and International Affairs, an Emeritus Member of the Canada School of Public Service, an Associate Member of the Multidimensional Conflict

Observatory at the Raoul-Dandurand Chair at UQAM, and a member of the Strategic Analysis Network's Strategic Advisory Council. Daniel is an active volunteer with Centraide Outaouais, where he previously chaired the board of directors.