Prime Ministers Series' Inaugural Event Features the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney

Partnership between University of Ottawa and the Canada School of Public Service launches groundbreaking series of learning events

OTTAWA, Feb. 20, 2019 /CNW/ - Good government involves difficult choices and effective change management; the leaders who rise to the challenge go on to make history.

Today, the Professional Development Institute of the University of Ottawa and the Canada School of Public Service, together with the President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government, the Honourable Jane Philpott, announced the upcoming Prime Ministers Series. Its inaugural event, Delivering Transformative Change for Canadians with the Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney, will take place in Ottawa on March 5, 2019, in the Trillium Room at the Shaw Centre.

The Prime Ministers Series--a partnership between the University of Ottawa Professional Development Institute and the Canada School of Public Service--highlights policy initiatives from Canadian prime ministers. The purpose of this annual day-long event is to inform, educate and inspire today's policy makers and public service leaders about how to conceive and deliver transformative change.

The 2019 conference will interactively explore four nation-building initiatives with key players who were close to the action, facing tough choices and, at times, fierce opposition. In 2020, the Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien, Canada's 20th Prime Minister, will be the next distinguished speaker to motivate the leaders of tomorrow.

As minister responsible for the Canada School of Public Service, Minister Philpott welcomed the partnership between the University of Ottawa and the School:

"The themes being explored through this partnership provide a unique opportunity for former prime ministers to describe their experiences in approaching and tackling key policy challenges, and steering Canada's public service into becoming the world-class system it is today."

The 2019 session, Delivering Transformative Change for Canadians with the Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney, will explore four nation-building initiatives:

    --  Tax Reform: Replacing the Manufacturers' Sales Tax with the GST and
        other tax measures
    --  A Green Canada: Environmental leadership in challenging fiscal
        circumstances
    --  Free Trade Agreement: From idea to agreement to implementation
    --  North American Free Trade Agreement: Securing a place in the hub of the
        international trade wheel

In addition to the Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney, numerous public figures and senior officials will offer their insights. They include David Dodge (former Deputy Minister of Finance and Governor of the Bank of Canada) and Derek Burney (former Canadian Ambassador to the United States).

More information about the event, including registration details, can be found at www.PDInstitute.uOttawa.ca/PMseries or https://www.csps-efpc.gc.ca/events/tpms/index-eng.aspx.

President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ottawa, Jacques Frémont, welcomes the new annual series: "As the world's largest bilingual (English-French) university, located just steps away from Parliament Hill, we are delighted to partner with the Canada School of Public Service on this nation-building initiative. The Prime Ministers Series is a great complement to our rapidly growing Professional Development Institute, which provides learning services to thousands of public servants each year."

Taki Sarantakis, President of the Canada School of Public Service, also welcomed this new learning partnership: "The Canada School of Public Service is proud to be working with the University of Ottawa to develop a unique learning day. This partnership is the beginning of a new way of working with educational institutions across Canada."

About the Prime Ministers Series
The Prime Ministers Series--a partnership between the University of Ottawa Professional Development Institute and the Canada School of Public Service--highlights policy initiatives of Canadian prime ministers. The purpose of this annual day-long event is to inform, educate and inspire today's policy makers and public service leaders about how to conceive and deliver transformative change. In 2020, the next distinguished speaker to motivate the leaders of tomorrow will be the Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien, who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Canada from November 1993 to December 2003.

About the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney
The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney served as Canada's 18th Prime Minister from September 1984 to June 1993.

He was born in Baie-Comeau and became a prominent lawyer in Montréal prior to his political career. Mulroney's tenure as Prime Minister introduced bold new initiatives such as the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Canada-U.S. Acid Rain Treaty. Prime Minister Mulroney's government also introduced a wave of privatizations, a low inflation policy, historic tax reform and other tax measures, extensive deregulation and expenditure reduction policies that continue to be the basis of Canada's impressive economic performance today.

His government played leading roles in the campaign against apartheid in South Africa, the creation of Le Sommet de la Francophonie, and the Gulf War.

Upon resigning, Mr. Mulroney rejoined the Montréal law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, and serves on various boards and foundations.

Mr. Mulroney has been awarded Canada's highest honour, Companion of the Order of Canada. He is a Grand Officer of the Ordre national du Québec and has received honourable recognitions from numerous universities and governments at home and abroad.

He and his wife Mila Pivnicki reside in Montréal, Quebec, and have four children: Caroline, Benedict, Mark and Nicolas.

About the Canada School of Public Service
The Canada School of Public Service provides a range of learning activities to build individual and organizational capacity and management excellence within the public service. Similar to a corporate training and development institution, the School supports common public service learning at all levels nationwide and across a wide variety of federal departments and agencies, allowing them to focus on delivering mandate-specific training and development. It ensures that public service employees have the common knowledge, skills and competencies to fulfill their responsibilities in serving Canadians. The School has been part of the Treasury Board Portfolio since July 2004. It was created from an amalgamation of the following three organizations: the Canadian Centre for Management Development, Training and Development Canada and Language Training Canada. For further information on the Canada School of Public Service, visit www.csps-efpc.gc.ca.

About the Professional Development Institute of the University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa's Professional Development Institute (the Institute) was established more than 25 years ago to offer higher learning opportunities to private and public sector professionals. Over the years, the Institute has nurtured expertise, growing significantly in course offerings, specialty knowledge expertise and as a hub of thought-leadership.
The Institute is recognized as mission-critical to the University of Ottawa, being at the forefront of professional development in the national capital and beyond, offering diversified programming and featuring strategic partnerships with government and private industry, offering event-based learning and conferences, establishing co-designed programs with key government sectors and more. For further information on the Institute's programs and initiatives, visit https://pdinstitute.uottawa.ca/en.

SOURCE Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat