Is deputy "churn" myth or reality?

The relationship between the turnover of Cabinet ministers and its effects on the leadership and management of the public service is another area that receives little attention, given the importance of their role in working with and through the public service to define and implement the government’s agenda. [...] The deputies or equivalents at the Department of Justice, the Department of Canadian Heritage, and the Public Service Commission have all averaged four years or more on the job, with the Departments of Health and of Fisheries and Oceans also showing an average of over three years. [...] Also of note is the fact that there has been a relatively significant degree of stability in the office of the Clerk of the Privy Council, with the two previous Clerks (Mel Cappe and Alex Himelfarb) each serving over three years, and the current Clerk (Kevin Lynch) nearing the end of his second year. [...] According to the results of a 2006 survey of senior Canadian leaders in the public and private sectors – including deputies and their equivalents in other federal organizations, and CEOs and senior executives in the private sector – the percentage of public sector leaders in their jobs for less than a year is twice as high as their counterparts in the private 4. As of October 31, 2007, there is on [...] Moreover, given that there were only 15 departures from the group during the course of the year, the majority of the appointments were representative of lateral mobility within the cohort.