Privy Council Office (Canada)

The Office's present location in the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council building at 80 Wellington Street

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The Privy Council Office (French: Bureau du Conseil privé) is the secretariat of the federal cabinet of Canada, which is a committee of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, and provides non-partisan advice and support to the Canadian ministry, as well as leadership, coordination, and support to the departments and agencies of government. It is located in the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council building (previously known as Langevin Block) on Parliament Hill. The Federal Government helps the Privy Council by constituting the premier levels of government in Canada.

Overview

Although the PCO has grown in size and complexity over the years, its main pillars remain the operations and plans secretariats. The former is primarily concerned with coordinating the day-to-day issues of government while the latter takes a medium-term view to the evolution of the Canadian federation. Each incoming Prime Minister will re-organize the PCO to suit the policy agenda of his or her government. Today, the PCO also includes a department of intergovernmental affairs, secretariats for communications, foreign and defence policy, security and intelligence, social affairs, economic affairs, legislation and house planning and machinery of government.

Traditionally, the PCO has served as a "finishing school" for civil servants destined for executive positions within government. Officials who spend several years gaining experience at the PCO, and working on policy matters from the perspective of the Prime Minister, return to their home departments with a greater appreciation of government operations at the corporate level. Aside from senior positions within the civil service, PCO alumni have gone on to pursue successful careers in business and politics, including Paul Tellier, former CEO of Bombardier; Michael Sabia, CEO of Bell Canada; Robert Rabinovitch, CEO of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau; and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Pierre Pettigrew.

The head of the civil service has the title of Clerk of the Privy Council, and also serves as the Secretary to the Cabinet and Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister.

The Privy Council Office's role is different from that of the Prime Minister's Office, which is a personal and partisan office. It is understood that the Prime Minister should not receive advice from only one institutionalized source. To that end, the PCO serves as the policy-oriented but politically-sensitive advisory unit to the Prime Minister, while the PMO is politically-oriented but policy-sensitive.

Current structure of the Privy Council Office

• Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet
  • Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Operations
    • Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Economic and Regional Development Policy
    • Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Social Development Policy
    • Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Review of Laws and Policies Related to Indigenous Peoples
    • Assistant Clerk of the Privy Council, Orders-in-Council
    • Director, Operations and Cabinet Papers System
  • Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Plans and Consultations
    • Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Priorities and Planning
    • Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Communications and Consultations
    • Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Liaison Secretariat for Macroeconomic Policy
  • Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Results and Delivery
    • Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Results and Delivery
    • Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Central Innovation Hub
  • Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Governance
    • Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Machinery of Government and Democratic Institutions
    • Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Parliamentary Affairs
  • Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Senior Personnel and Public Service Renewal
    • Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Senior Personnel
    • Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Public Service Renewal
  • Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services Branch
• National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister
  • Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Security and Intelligence
  • Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Intelligence Assessment
  • Deputy Minister and Foreign and Defence Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister
    • Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Foreign and Defence Policy
• Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Youth
  • Assistant Deputy Minister, Intergovernmental Affairs
  • Executive Director, Youth

See also

• Queen's Privy Council for Canada

References

External links

• Privy Council Office
• Role and Structure of the Privy Council Office