The Department of History will proudly host Jean-Pierre Morin, Departmental Historian/Senior Policy Advisor at Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada as their Public Servant in Residence for 2015-2016.
Beginning in August 2015, Morin will bring his sixteen years of expertise as a public servant researcher, strategist and policy advisor to the Department of History. Morin specializes in the history of Treaties and the historical relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian Government, using in-depth historical research findings to advise and assist in the penning of forthcoming government policies surrounding Aboriginal issues.
“As a researcher and as a teacher, Jean-Pierre will bring an invaluable experience of the role of history in government,” explains the Chair of the Department of History, Dominique Marshall.
“He will discuss with colleagues and students of all levels not only how governments call on historians to research the past, but also how politicians and public servants use instances of the past to inform their decisions. He knows more than most of us how the past helps explain the origins of a question, provides rich examples and counter examples of public planning, decision making, resolution of conflicts, and much more.”
Morin’s role in the public service is unique and demanding, meaning his day to day duties are consistently in flux. In the morning he might be delivering a seminar to his colleagues on the value of historical context and the importance of new media and digital platforms in disseminating messages, and in the afternoon he could be on his way to Manitoba to hear from leaders in Aboriginal communities.
For more on this story, see http://carleton.ca/fass/2015/collaborating-on-canadas-past-history-welcomes-a-public-servant-in-residence-for-2015-2016/