Dr. John Hollins, past chair Canadian Club of Rome, had an article published in the Ottawa Citizen on 4 March 2021
Re: Commission hears grim LTC story,
March 2.
Minister of Long-term Care Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, a family physician, said she didn’t want to overstep her expertise. That’s unfortunate, but not surprising. She is a member of a hierarchical, patronal profession.
As a minister, she has been working in a system dominated by one person, a man, where sycophancy is expected, as in some other Canadian jurisdictions. An important job of members of the cabinet appears to be to provide a backdrop to a premier at the podium.
This approach is the opposite of that of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose rise in her party has been attributed to her relentless competence while shunning the limelight.
The problem of the one-man band approach to government was highlighted by Prof. Donald Savoie in his 2019 book Democracy in Canada: The Disintegration of Our Institutions. Electors are in a weak position to do anything about that.
So, Dr. Fullerton and other members of cabinets in Canada, please recognize that as a member of cabinet you have become a generalist. We, the electors, need you to draw on and vigorously share your expertise, experience and insights with your colleagues.
John Hollins,
Gloucester
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