Review and Reflection Series

This series helps learners to gain new insights into modern-day issues by reviewing and reflecting on benchmark events, policies, and decisions from throughout the last century. Designed to benefit public administration practitioners, each of the products in this series offers perspectives on government operations through a new lens or from a unique viewpoint.

Past and upcoming lectures
Date	Title	Description
July 10, 2025	Reflections by Janice Stein (LPL1-V45)	This video features Professor Janice Stein, Founding Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto, who reflects on historical moments and events that continue to shape the world of politics today.
June 19, 2025	Policy Leadership from Without: The Use, Design, Launch, and Support of Arms-Length Panels (LPL1-J04)	Written from a practitioner's perspective, this white paper supports federal decision-makers who are considering whether and how to use, design, launch, and support arms-length expert external advisory panels by examining the conditions of success when generating public policy ideas outside of government.
March 17, 2025	In the Public Interest: My Life in Public Service (TRN5-J02)	This publication by Richard Dicerni (1949–2023) is part memoir, part lessons learned, and part discussion on the challenges faced by senior executives in the public and private sectors in Canada.
May 21, 2025	Reflections by Margaret MacMillan (LPL1-V44)	This video features Margaret MacMillan, Canadian historian, award-winning author, and emeritus professor of history at the University of Toronto and of international history at Oxford University, who reflects on the paradox of war and its role in the development of human societies, while also providing a deep perspective on its evolution and the concept of peace.
May 29, 2025	Canada's Federal Spending Reviews: 50 Years of Facts, Figures, and Lessons (FON1-J13)	Designed to benefit current and future public administration practitioners, this publication provides a historical perspective on disparate fiscal review initiatives spanning over a half century.
June 5, 2025	Reflections by Munir Sheikh (LPL1-V46)	This video features Munir Sheikh, Ph.D., former Chief Statistician of Canada, who reflects on the pivotal decision that led to his resignation from the public service (which is not the reason you may remember).