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The New Deputy Minister

On April 6, Myles J. Kirvan became Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General of Canada. He replaces John H. Sims, Q.C., who retired after a 32-year public service career.

The Deputy Minister sat down recently with justice canada’s managing editor Stephen Bindman to discuss his career, the Department of Justice and the public service.

Welcome to the Department of Justice. How does it feel to be the head of Canada’s largest law firm?

It’s a great honour to be chosen to head up Canada’s largest law firm. But the Department of Justice is so much more than that. Besides supporting the Minister of Justice and providing legal advice to each and every government department, we also have important responsibilities for developing policy and program administration. And, while we have more than 2,500 lawyers, we have many other talented professionals as well – researchers, communicators, paralegals, policy analysts, accountants, to name just a few.

So for me personally, it’s a great opportunity to be able to contribute to the development of the law in Canada, to be able to advance the public interest. As a lawyer and a public servant, it’s a dream job.

I should have said welcome back because in fact you have spent a large part of your career at the Department of Justice. Can you highlight the various steps of your career?

Myles J. Kirvan.
Photo: Pat Walton for the Department of Justice

After I was called to the Bar in 1981, I worked on Parliament Hill. I had the great opportunity to work with several Ministers of the Crown and became Judicial Affairs Advisor to the Minister of Justice in 1986 and later Chief of Staff.

Several years later, I was intent on moving to private practice, but John Tait, who was the Deputy Minister at the time, approached me to join the public service for a short period of time to assist in policy development and discussion in the wake of the defeat of the Meech Lake Accord. So in 1991 I joined Justice as General Counsel in the Federal/Provincial Relations Office.

From there I went on to other positions in the Department, including heading up the Legal Services Unit at Health Canada. That was a tremendous experience because it got me back to the direct practice of law, as well as managing a large law office for a big regulatory department. I was later appointed Assistant Deputy Minister of Business and Regulatory Law which was a great opportunity to build relationships between Justice and other government departments and agencies.

In 2007, I left the Department for 2 ½ years when I was appointed Associate Deputy Minister of Public Safety. That is a huge portfolio involving policing, security-related issues, corrections and parole and issues relating to Canada’s borders. I then returned to Justice this year, and it really was like coming home.

So my initial short commitment to the federal government turned into a very fulfilling career that really aligned with my interest in public service and contributing to the public good.

When you became Deputy Minister in April of this year, you replaced John Sims. What can you say about your predecessor?

John was an outstanding leader of the Department of Justice for five years. He has left a solid foundation in the Department, one that I hope to build on. He left a strong legacy both in the practice of law and in the management of the Department. One achievement I would highlight is the work he did with respect to employment equity in the Department. He addressed concerns with great energy and dedication, to the point where we’re now recognized as a leader in employment equity.

What do you see as the greatest challenges facing both you and the Department?

I would say that I have the great privilege of being in a job at this stage of my career that provides the opportunity to learn. 

I don’t see learning as a challenge as much as a fabulous opportunity to work with colleagues across the Department to ensure that we are bringing forward the best possible advice. And on a personal level, there’s always a lot to learn in the law, no matter where one is.

I have a responsibility to ensure that this institution builds on its strength to serve Canadians. I am also the steward of an important national institution and I need to ensure that we have the governance and structures in place to properly carry out our mandate. At the same time, we must position Justice to continue to be a centre of excellence in the practice of law. We have to ensure that our people have the support that is necessary to contribute effectively. I think we have to also take steps to further strengthen our outreach. We have to ensure that that we have the right linkages to our other partners in Canada’s system of justice. Obviously we do a lot of work with the provinces and territories. We do a lot of work with non-governmental organizations. To provide the leadership that I think is essential and to provide effective results for Canadians, we have to ensure that those connections are being made, fostered and nurtured.

Would you include in those linkages a relationship with the private bar?

I think the relationship between the Department and the private bar is absolutely key. Since I’ve been on the job, I’ve had the privilege to meet with colleagues in the Canadian Bar Association at their meeting in Niagara Falls, as well as with the Federation of Law Societies. The private bar, like the public sector bar, is engaged in critically important issues that impact the lives of Canadians. It’s very important for us as an institution, as well as individual lawyers in the Department, to make those connections, to keep that dialogue open.

You have spent 30 years now in public service of one form or another. Do you think that a job in the public service is still an attractive option for somebody who’s graduating from law school?

Absolutely I do. I mentioned earlier that at one point in my career I was seriously considering going into private practice. Both are noble pursuits for a lawyer. But the huge motivator for me to come to the public sector was being able to contribute to the public good, to be able to be part of something much larger, to be able to really advance matters that have a positive impact on the lives of Canadians.

And in the Department of Justice, the experience one gains can be much greater than what is available in private practice in the early years of your career. You can also have a variety of work across practice areas that is more difficult to get in private practice. Overall, you have an extraordinary opportunity to build your practice experience, have a fulfilling career and make a contribution that lasts a lifetime.

Can you give an example where your work directly impacted the lives of Canadians?

During my time at Health Canada as Senior General Counsel, we embarked on a very ambitious regulatory initiative to reserve 50 per cent of a tobacco package for health warnings, with pictures. We knew that there would be a significant legal challenge brought by tobacco manufacturers. We spent a lot of time and resources in ensuring that we had the best case possible to put forward to sustain that important public health objective before the courts. It went through the Quebec Superior Court, the Quebec Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada where eventually the regime was upheld. There is still a great feeling of having contributed to something that endures today and warns Canadians about a major public health concern.

Let me ask you a few more personal questions. What book is by your bed side these days?

The Bishop’s Man, the novel by CBC broadcaster Linden MacIntyre that won the 2009 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

If you hadn’t been a lawyer, what do you think you might have been or wish you had been?

I would have been very interested in being a medical doctor. My father was a doctor. He had a dream of one of his children becoming a medical doctor but that did not occur. My aptitudes in science and math were pretty close to abysmal.

Being part of the development of the law, being able to contribute to our legal system in whatever humble way I can, is absolutely huge because of my enormous respect for the rule of law and its place at the heart of a well-functioning society and democracy. For me personally, it’s very hard to beat that.

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