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John Weissenberger: Liberals have perfected the practice of announcing things they will never do

The policy is always just to make an announcement, and then re-announce later on

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Many quaint expressions have passed from common usage in recent years, like “it’s a free country” or “sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” Similarly, “talk is cheap” is something you don’t hear much, at least not in government circles around Ottawa. That may be because the governing Liberals, like many politicians, don’t seem to know the difference between saying you’re going to do something and actually doing it.

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In fact, there’s a certain cunning sophistication in the way governments do nothing. It begins with politically milking every announcement, theatrical staging and requisite media. Press coverage, from the government’s perspective, ideally involves a story announcing the coming announcement, then a story describing the announcement itself, followed by “critical analysis” of the announcement in the comment pages, or by talking heads on unwatchable cable shows. The staging itself can be deceiving, as when Prime Minister Carney, channeling Prince Potemkin, announced a housing initiative at a fake building site.

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After a sufficient length of time, measured in months or years, there will be another announcement. This will preferably be done by a new minister or — as with the “new team” currently occupying our federal government benches — a different prime minister. The new announcement will be to “affirm” or “recommit” to the previous announcement, as in “Canada’s new government recommits to that thing we said we’d do but didn’t do.”

One time-honoured tradition of inaction, forming a Royal Commission to study the matter, seems to have been replaced by the creation of new agencies. After all, agencies employ more people. The federal Liberals have done this twice in the area of infrastructure alone. Both times, the approach was similar, appoint a senior executive from the private sector then leave them to languish in bureaucratic limbo. The Trudeau government’s Canada Infrastructure Bank, set up in 2017 with $35 billion to be spent over 10 years, was meant to “de-risk” projects, enticing otherwise reluctant investors. It’s meagre results came under significant criticism, as did the healthy six-figure salaries of its executives.

Now there is the “Major Projects Office,” announced in August 2025, meant to “speed up projects through faster permitting and coordinated funding.” The message seems to be “our process is so onerous we need more process to clear it up,” kind of like downing some hair of the dog the morning after the night before. Critics assert the office has clearly added more regulations and red tape. Similar to the Infrastructure Bank, it employs hand-picked executives earning healthy salaries. Reportedly based in Calgary, it aims to “have offices (that is, offices of the Office) in other major Canadian cities.” The 15 projects referred to the Office, visible on a handy interactive map, are “in process.” The gap between talk and action remains.

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Carney’s government also appears to be confused about the difference between memoranda of understanding (MOUs), by definition representing the “early stages of negotiations.” and actual binding agreements. The prime minister and his cabinet have burned a lot of jet fuel accumulating economic or trade MOUs, with “agreements to negotiate” at a future date. Carney’s recent trip to India, for instance, reportedly committed to a trade deal by the end of this year. Mark your calendars for a “recommitment” to be announced in the coming months.

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Many Canadians, mainly Albertans, are scrutinizing one particular MOU, that involves an awaited new oil pipeline to tidewater. Skeptics maintain that, if the Liberals had really changed their Guilbeault-vian ways, they’d have simply approved the pipeline, not saddled the province with yet another Byzantine process. It doesn’t take a tin foil hat to recall that, not so long ago, the prime minister spoke of keeping 80 per cent of our hydrocarbons in the ground.

To be fair, Ottawa’s execution deficit derives partly from general societal confusion between talk and action, plus the misguided belief that, if only the right process is applied the desired result inevitably follows. Interminable planning sessions, “stakeholder” meetings and consultations then become ends in and of themselves, benefitting only consultants billing by the hour. The process becomes the purpose.

This is exacerbated by some professions, like lawyers, being over-represented in politics, government and the Liberal cabinet specifically. Their yen for rule-making proliferates, effective project management, not so much (see latest $6.6 billion federal IT blowout). We end up with the worst of both worlds– failed government programs and a hobbled private sector.

The experience of previous governments, however, proves effective project planning and execution is possible, starting from first principles. It begins with clear ministerial mandate letters, which holds politicians and bureaucrats to task, firm deadlines, project tracking and budgetary vigilance. The Carney government has 358,000 public servants at its disposal and, inexplicably, spends over $19 billion on consultants. So it’s clearly not resources that are lacking, it’s leadership. Actions speak louder than words, to quote another old saying, so does inaction.

On the other hand, it might be better if they did nothing. They’re good at it. Think how easy would it be to, say, stop processing immigration applications, or cripple resource development? That would help a lot. Their dogged persistence in having government do a lot of things badly and preventing others from doing things well — i.e. the Liberal mode of government — is a real problem.

So how about this solution? Regarding that very short list of possible good things you said you’d do, please do them. As for the rest, between us, a “recommitment” is good enough.

John Weissenberger is a Calgary geologist and executive. He was previously seconded as Chief of Staff to a federal minister. 

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