The Chiefs: Persist or Reboot Retreat with Brodie, Murphy, and Topp

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

Alright, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites! This week, we’re bringing back The Chiefs! Three former Chiefs of Staff to some of Canada’s most accomplished heads of government.

Ian Brodie – first Chief of Staff to Stephen Harper, and central to the founding of the CPC. Now … Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary.

Tim Murphy – former Chief of Staff to Paul Martin. Now ...  the newly installed EVP and Chief Strategic Affairs Officer at AECON.

Brian Topp – former Chief of Staff to Rachel Notley in Alberta, Deputy Chief to Roy Romanow in Saskatchewan, one of the architects of Jack Layton’s Orange Wave. Now ... he’s a founding partner at GT&co.

Remember, #TheChiefs is a panel where we discuss issues from the perspective of people who think about them NOT as campaigners do — i.e., what might be ideal in a political sense — but rather, what’s possible to deliver in a governing sense.

So today … the Liberal cabinet retreat in Halifax. What was the PMO hoping to get out of it in policy and political terms, and what did they get out of it? Immigration. How did the issue get away from the government and where to from here? Finally, in the wake of the Liberal Staffer revolt in Montreal, what is the role and expectations of “exempt staff”.

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