Public servants have a duty to advise ministers with precision. But so far, the ministers themselves are getting only vague direction, with no individual mandate letters or a budget.

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From a public service lens, governing right now seems to look like sending a team into the wilderness with no compass, no trail markers and a bold declaration that the mountain’s summit must be reached by sundown.

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That’s an exaggeration — but maybe not by that much. While the transition to a Mark Carney government does not involve a change in political party, the new leader has a different tone and lacks the usual navigation tools. What we’re left with seems largely undefined so far, and yet the public service is still expected to fill in the blanks: not just maintain governance but improve it — with no blueprint.

There are

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