{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T08:14:35Z","timestamp":1784621675549,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,21]],"date-time":"2025-02-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1740096000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,21]],"date-time":"2025-02-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1740096000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Healthc Manage Forum"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Public servants are central in helping Canadians navigate public health crises. Before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic, these professionals have been essential to implementing widespread government interventions, sometimes amid significant public scrutiny. These experiences highlight the delicate balance public health officials maintain in a democracy: providing expert advice to cabinet to define the public good and implementing decisions to help preserve public health. Notwithstanding varying scopes for autonomous decision-making, chief medical officers of health aid elected officials in weighing tradeoffs in the pursuit of communal objectives, not by dictating them but by enabling informed decision-making. In recent years, there have been calls for public health officials to substitute their judgement for that of elected officials in issuing directives. This article explores the role of public health officials as public servants and the perils of these officials misunderstanding their roles which may undermine the effectiveness and legitimacy of policy decisions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/08404704251320301","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,21]],"date-time":"2025-02-21T04:42:44Z","timestamp":1740112964000},"page":"530-533","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Trust, technocracy, and the public servant\u2019s bargain: The evolving role of Canadian health leaders post-COVID"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"38","author":[{"given":"Jared","family":"Wesley","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Alberta"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-4275-5137","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Samuel","family":"Goertz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Alberta"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_6_2_2","volume-title":"Who the Public Trusted During the Pandemic","author":"McAndrews J","year":"2024","unstructured":"McAndrews J. Who the Public Trusted During the Pandemic. Policy Options. 2024. Published October 17. https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/magazines\/public-trust-canadian-institutions-covid-19\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_3_2","volume-title":"Opinion: Medical Health Officers Should be Fully Independent","author":"Peiris S","unstructured":"Peiris S. Opinion: Medical Health Officers Should be Fully Independent. The Star Phoenix. Published August 24, 2021. https:\/\/thestarphoenix.com\/opinion\/columnists\/opinion-medical-health-officers-should-be-fully-independent"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_4_2","volume-title":"Alberta\u2019s New Chief Medical Officer Must Be Independent, Not Sidelined","author":"Ogbogu LHand U","unstructured":"Ogbogu LHand U. Alberta\u2019s New Chief Medical Officer Must Be Independent, Not Sidelined. CBC. Published November 16, 2022. https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/calgary\/opinion-alberta-chief-medical-officer-hinshaw-joffe-danielle-smith-1.6652235"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_5_2","volume-title":"N.B.\u2019s Former Top Doc Decries \u201cOfficial Politicization of Public Health\u201d","author":"MacKinnon BJ","unstructured":"MacKinnon BJ. N.B.\u2019s Former Top Doc Decries \u201cOfficial Politicization of Public Health\u201d. CBC. Published June 23, 2022. https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/new-brunswick\/public-health-act-amendments-power-medical-officer-minister-wayne-macdonald-1.6497656"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3138\/9781442657229"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3138\/9781442678606"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_8_2","unstructured":"For further reading on the concept of the \u2018public servant\u2019s bargain \u2019 readers are encouraged to engage with Savoie\u2019s Breaking the Bargain (2003)5 and Blakeney and Borins\u2019 Political Management in Canada (1998)6 two seminal Canadian works in this space."},{"key":"e_1_3_6_9_2","volume-title":"Toronto, Canada & Global Breaking News \u2013 CP24","unstructured":"Toronto, Canada & Global Breaking News \u2013 CP24. CP24. https:\/\/www.cp24.com\/news\/survey-suggests-canadians-becoming-more-divided-over-covid-19-politics-1.5846875"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_10_2","volume-title":"Canada\u2019s National Party Leaders Have Never Been Less Popular, and 50 Years of Data Demonstrates that","unstructured":"Canada\u2019s National Party Leaders Have Never Been Less Popular, and 50 Years of Data Demonstrates that. Angus Reid Institute. Published May 30, 2024. https:\/\/angusreid.org\/canada-party-leaders-historically-unpopular\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_11_2","volume-title":"Canadians Less Trusting of Governments as COVID Wears on for Second Year: Poll","author":"Rabson M","unstructured":"Rabson M. Canadians Less Trusting of Governments as COVID Wears on for Second Year: Poll. Global News. Published February 9, 2022. https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/8605841\/canada-government-covid-trust-poll\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_12_2","unstructured":"Government of Canada Statistics Canada. The Daily \u2014 confidence in institutions and the media. 2023. Published February 13 2024. https:\/\/www150.statcan.gc.ca\/n1\/daily-quotidien\/240213\/dq240213a-eng.htm"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_13_2","volume-title":"Trust in Governments Shows Signs of Life as Pandemic Starts to Fade","author":"The Canadian Press","year":"2023","unstructured":"The Canadian Press. Trust in Governments Shows Signs of Life as Pandemic Starts to Fade. CTV News. 2023. Published February 9. https:\/\/www.ctvnews.ca\/politics\/trust-in-governments-shows-signs-of-life-as-pandemic-starts-to-fade-1.6266377"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_14_2","volume-title":"Trusting Federal and Provincial Government Decision-Making on Key Issues","author":"Parkin A","unstructured":"Parkin A. Trusting Federal and Provincial Government Decision-Making on Key Issues. Environics Institute. 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