Canada's New Government - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

"Canada's New Government" is a brand

Brand

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...

ing term or political slogan

Slogan

A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...

used by the Government of Canada

Government of Canada

The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...

during the first twenty months of the Harper ministry.

Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper

Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...

, leader of the Conservative Party

Conservative Party of Canada

The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

, took office on February 6, 2006. Immediately thereafter, the federal government began to use the term as part of a marketing campaign to differentiate the Harper government from the previous Liberal Party

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

government, led by Paul Martin

Paul Martin

Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....

. Previously, federal government announcements simply referred to the "Government of Canada".

For the first few months after Harper's party assumed office, it is believed that this term was used only in very high level communication and press releases from the Prime Minister's Office

Office of the Prime Minister (Canada)

In Canada, the Office of the Prime Minister , located in the Langevin Block, on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, is one of the most powerful parts of the government. It is made up of the prime minister and his or her top political staff, who are charged with advising the prime minister on decisions,...

and the offices of federal cabinet

Cabinet of Canada

The Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada...

ministers. It was also applied to some government communication through the www.gc.ca web portal. Beginning in the summer of 2006, wider use of the term was encouraged by the Harper administration in Canada's public service, however policies for its use were unclear.

The phrase was quietly dropped in October 2007, with most references reverting to the "Government of Canada".

Okulitch incident

Issues regarding usage of the phrase within the public service culminated in a situation where Dr. Andrew Okulitch, a retired research scientist and at that time a scientist emeritus with the Geological Survey of Canada, refused to comply with a communications directive from Natural Resources Canada

Natural Resources Canada

The Department of Natural Resources , operating under the FIP applied title Natural Resources Canada , is the ministry of the government of Canada responsible for natural resources, energy, minerals and metals, forests, earth sciences, mapping and remote sensing...

that specified employees use the term.

It read as follows:

"As per the Minister's Office, effective immediately, the words "Canada's New Government" are to be used instead of "the Government of Canada" in all departmental correspondence. Please note that the initial letters of all three words are capitalized. Thank you for your cooperation." (September 5, 2006, Vanessa Nelson, Executive Advisor, Communications Branch, Natural Resources Canada) http://www.rickmercer.com/blog/index.cfm/2007/1/18/Harper-in-Harpers)

This was followed with a reply from Dr. Okulitch to all recipients of the email:

"Why do newly elected officials think everything begins with them taking office? They are merely stewards for as long as the public allows. They are the Government of Canada. Nothing more. I shall use "Geological Survey of Canada" on my departmental correspondence to avoid any connection with "New Government." The GSC, steward to Canada's earth resources for 164 years, is an institution worthy of my loyalty, as opposed to idiotic buzzwords coined by political hacks." (Dr. Andrew Okulitch, Scientist Emeritus, Geological Survey of Canada, Earth Sciences Sector, Natural Resources Canada http://www.rickmercer.com/blog/index.cfm/2007/1/18/Harper-in-Harpers)

Dr. Okulitch received this reply to his email within an hour from Dr. Irwin Itzkovitch, then Assistant Deputy Minister, Earth Sciences Sector:

"Given your strong though misdirected views of the role and authority of the Government as elected by the people, and your duty to reflect their decisions, I accept that you are immediately removing yourself from the Emeritus Program. I wish you every success in your future." (Dr. Irwin Itzkovitch, Special Advisor, Deputy Minister's Office, Natural Resources Canada http://www.rickmercer.com/blog/index.cfm/2007/1/18/Harper-in-Harpers)

A media frenzy ensued, deriding the federal government's treatment of the affair and Dr. Okulitch was reinstated by Deputy Minister of Natural Resources, Cassie Doyle http://direct.srv.gc.ca/cgi-bin/direct500/REcn%3dDoyle%5c%2c%20Cassie%2cou%3dDMO-CSM%2cou%3dNRCAN-RNCAN%2co%3dGC%2cc%3dCA who informed Dr. Okulitch that he would not have to use the phrase as it was not intended for "working-level people and never was." http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/09/19/scientist-flap.html This was confirmed by Minister of Natural Resources

Minister of Natural Resources (Canada)

The Minister of Natural Resources is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for Natural Resources Canada. As of January 19, 2010, the Minister of Natural Resources is Joe Oliver.-Ministers:Key:...

, Gary Lunn

Gary Lunn

Gary Vincent Lunn, PC, MP is the former Canadian Member of Parliament for the British Columbia riding of Saanich—Gulf Islands. He served in the House of Commons from 1997 to 2011, first as a member of the Reform Party of Canada and subsequently as a member of the Canadian Alliance and the...

, who said there was no expectation for anyone in the department to use the slogan.

Dr. Irwin Itzkovitch is no longer Assistant Deputy Minister at NRCan, but instead works in the Deputy Minister's Office as a Special Advisor (as of August 13, 2007)(http://direct.srv.gc.ca/).

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.