CTV: Ottawa — Federal public servants were trying to understand the wholesale "harperization" of Government of Canada communications six months before a spokesman for the prime minister emphatically denied any change in policy or practice.
New documents obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act directly contradict published claims by Stephen Harper's chief spokesman that bureaucrats have not been directed to replace the words Government of Canada with "Harper Government" in departmental news releases and backgrounders.
Top former civil servants say the wording change marks a disturbing new trend in the politicization of the bureaucracy -- and breaches both communications policy and the civil service ethics policy.
The Prime Minister's Office has simply ignored for months repeated inquiries about the motivation for the shift in language.
Jonathan Rose, an expert in political communication at Queen's University, suggests it's a partisan branding exercise designed to "encourage a subtle shift to occur where the government of Canada is equated with a particular party or leader."
"It allows for a more seamless connection between the neutral machinery of the state and the partisan interests of those in government," said Rose.
Canadians should take note, he said.
"The public service is correctly asking questions, as there does not seem to be a clear policy rationale for neutral public servants to do the partisan bidding of a government," said Rose.
Continue reading here.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.