The
Privy Council for Canada was created and authorized by the
Constitution Act, 1867, and there has been a clerk of the Privy Council since then. The staff of the Privy Council increased from 142 to 352 between 1971 and 1975. In 1989, reforms initiated by Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney gave the clerk position its present day responsibilities. Expert
Donald Savoie describes these as a combination of three roles: "the secretary of cabinet, the head of the non-partisan public service, and the deputy minister — or top bureaucrat — to the prime minister." One critique of this arrangement is that it could put senior nonpartisan officials in the position of taking partisan positions. Clerks generally have extensive previous experience in the Public Service of Canada before being appointed. ==See also==