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At the March 6th Justice Committee hearings into the SNC Lavalin affair, Gerald Butts, former principal secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, noted that a breakdown of trust occurred, and he took responsibility for that breakdown.
Butts said he regrets that Wilson-Raybould’s trust and faith in her colleagues had eroded.
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On March 7th, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, at his early morning press conference stated he should have been aware of an “erosion of trust” between his office and former Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould over the SNC-Lavalin controversy. “Over the past months, there was an erosion of trust between my office and specifically my former principal secretary and the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General,” Trudeau said. “I was not aware of that erosion of trust. As Prime Minister and leader of the Federal Ministry, I should have been.”
Trust is the foundation of all relationships whether they are personal or professional. In The Six Relationships of Highly Effective Organizations, author Dale Harley includes an examination of trust in each of the six relationships that impact on the long-term success of all private, public and not-for-profit sector organizations. The six relationships examined, include: client; media; investor; employee; community; and government relations. Checklists in the book explore if the organization trusts the various stakeholders and if the various stakeholders trust the organization.
The Trudeau government places significant importance on building relationships. In his Ministerial Mandate Letters, Prime Minister Trudeau states:
- Canadians need to have faith in their government’s honesty and willingness to listen. I expect that our work will be informed by performance measurement, evidence, and feedback from Canadians.
- It is my expectation that you will engage constructively and thoughtfully and add priorities to your agenda when appropriate.
- Meaningful engagement with Opposition Members of Parliament, Parliamentary Committees and the public service; constructive dialogue with Canadians, civil society, and stakeholders, including business, organized labour, the broader public sector, and the not-for-profit and charitable sectors.
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As outlined in the Engagement Continuum Model, engagement needs to be focused on both internal, as well as external stakeholders. It is important to monitor trends in relationships. Openness and dialogue should always be there. You need to be constantly communicating with your internal and external stakeholders. There needs to be honest and transparent commitments as organizations manage their relationships with all their stakeholders.
Prime Minister Trudeaus’ comments highlight the importance of relationships (in which trust is the foundation) and the monitoring of those relationships. Trudeau has framed the SNC Lavalin affair as a learning opportunity. He noted that people were not being heard. In his March 7th remarks, Trudeau stated that, “dialogue is critical on matters of justice.” The reality is, is that dialogue is critical on all matters. Let’s hope that this was a learning experience not only for Mr. Trudeau and his government, but all governments at all levels, as well as with private and not-for-profit sector organizations.
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Please feel free to pass this newsletter onto your friends and colleagues.
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At Harley House Consultants Inc. we believe that effective communications involves meaningful, constructive and thoughtful engagement with internal and external stakeholders. You have to be strategically positioned to provide timely, complete, honest, open and sincere information about the policies, programs and services of the Government of Canada.
For more information about how to improve the effectiveness of your consultation and communications strategies:
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