Trudeau picks veteran bureaucrat Wernick as clerk of Privy Council

The prime minister has named Michael Wernick as clerk of the Privy Council, replacing

Janice Charette, who was appointed to the job in 2014 by Trudeau’s Conservative

predecessor, Stephen Harper.

As clerk, Wernick will fill three roles: deputy minister to the prime minister, secretary to the

cabinet and head of the federal public service.

Wernick, who most recently was Charette’s deputy, has served in a variety of senior roles

since joining the federal public service in 1981.

Perhaps most significantly for Trudeau, Wernick spent eight years as deputy minister of

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, where he presided over the conclusion of

several modern treaties and new self-government agreements as well as a settlement for

victims of residential schools.

Trudeau has vowed to establish a new “nation-to-nation” relationship with indigenous

peoples, including some ambitious, specific promises to invest in education, end all boil-

water advisories on reserves and implement all 94 recommendations of the Truth and

Reconciliation commission.

In a statement, Trudeau called Wernick “an outstanding public service leader” who has “the

depth of experience and the skills we need to move full speed ahead on the implementation

and delivery of our government’s agenda.”

He emphasized his Liberal government’s commitment to renewal of “the professional, non-

partisan public service” — an apparent contrast to Harper, who was criticized for belittling

and politicizing the public service.

Trudeau thanked Charette for her “exemplary service to Canada” and for leading the public

service “through a difficult period with distinction.”

Charette is to remain in the public service as a senior adviser to the Privy Council Office,

which is essentially the bureaucratic arm of the Prime Minister’s Office.