Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam speaks at a news conference earlier this year with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Finance Bill Morneau and Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos in Ottawa.BLAIR GABLE / REUTERS

Listening to experts is what good leaders do

Re: When the bureaucrat is the boss, May 15.

I fundamentally disagree with Prof. Thomas Klassens take. Listening to the advice of experts with evidence is not abdicating leadership; it is the essence of modern leadership.

When Ontario Premier Doug Ford was first elected and came up with a partisan and pandering budget, his approval rating was under 30 per cent. Now that he has evolved as a leader who resists political gaming and clearly listens to and follows the experts and the science, his approval rating has been clocked at over 80 per cent. Democratic leadership in this time demands that politicians set aside messy partisan politics and have the fortitude to follow rational calculations and recommendations.

At the end of the day being democratic is about following the will of the people and right now Canadians want leaders who follow experts and evidence.

Steve Montague, Ottawa

Fear of bureaucrats is overblown

Speaking as a former federal public servant, I find Thomas Klassens concerns about the influence of faceless bureaucrats overblown.

It is the role of the public servant to provide analysis and advice, based on experience and expertise, to elected officials. Particularly at this time of pandemic, I am grateful that here in Canada we value the judgment and professionalism of people such as Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam. They are public servants of integrity and wisdom.

I will take that professionalism any day over ignorance and the wilful denigration of expertise masquerading as populism.

Michael Kaczorowski, Ottawa

Public servants advise; politicians decide

Thanks to Thomas Klassen for a great and timely op-ed on the empowerment of technical experts in the COVID-19 crisis and modern government generally. Still, Id like to provide a bit of reassurance regarding government by unelected technocrats.

Its true that ministers are often out of their depth in specialized areas such as science, medicine, tax policy and law. But the formula remains: public servants advise, elected officials decide. And only exceptionally is a policy decision based exclusively on a single branch of technical knowledge.

Public servants work within frameworks set by elected governments and must act in the public interest. That doesnt mean what they personally think is the public interest. It means: 1) not acting in their own personal interest or the interests of those they favour; 2) giving best practice analysis from their areas of expertise; and 3) advancing the agenda of the elected government.

The third point is critical. Elected governments set the direction of policy, based on their values and on the balance they think should be struck among competing interests and objects. Officials may not share their views, but its not their job to oppose government. Itistheir job to identify the consequences of policies, intended or unintended. And its their job to put forward options for achieving the governments objectives.

Admittedly, this isnt always understood. Theres a big difference, for instance, between scientific evidence and science policy, and clearly both public servants and elected officials have sometimes misunderstood that difference. But the principles are sound and in practice Canadian governments mostly get it right.

Karl Salgo, Executive Director, Public Governance, Institute on Governance, Ottawa

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Today's letters: Of bureaucrats and politicians, and who wields power - The Province