Welcome to The Spring 2024 Edition of the View from BC

Written By Hassan Arif

I am happy to introduce the spring edition of the newsletter. IPAC is a great organisation offering opportunities for public servants to network and exchange ideas, both in-person and through online forums. This use of in-person and online mediums reflects the growing hybridization of public sector work. 

This edition includes an interview, conducted by acting-IPAC Victoria chair Sonja Zoeller, with Kirsten Dupuy, who works as an analyst with the Infrastructure and Renewable Resources team and, previously, completed an eight-month remote co-op with the federal government, at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. Dupuy offers valuable insights of a public servant starting her career, including translating her academic interests into the public service, as well as the challenges and opportunities of working remotely.

This edition also features articles written by public servants and public administration academics. This includes a contribution by IPAC Board member, Brian Marson, on how best practices in Canadian public administration are offering a model abroad. It also includes an article by Arianna Bhagwansingh on team based healthcare and the lessons it can offer for British Columbia where this model is being implemented.

Ann Mitchell, a public servant with 28 years of experience in local government who is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Victoria, offers valuable insights on the relationship between Chief Administrative Officers and municipal councils.

Marcel Ramirez, who has over 25 years of experience in academia, the public sector, and in consulting, offers insights on Peruvian public administration. 

Dr. Susanne Thiessen, of the School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria, provides an Indigenous perspective on “working in a good way” in the public service.

I would like to thank the people at IPAC-Vancouver for their valuable collaboration. I would also like to specifically thank Jesse O’Neill-Bains and Claudine Lo for their work promoting the newsletter through various online mediums. Finally, I’d like to thank acting-IPAC-Victoria Chair Sonja Zoeller for her support and valuable editorial help (not to mention her excellent organisational skills in bringing this third edition to publication).

Hassan Arif

Hassan Arif is a Utility Regulation Specialist with the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation where he works on policy and legislative files pertaining to clean electricity generation. He has previously worked in the BC Ministry of Forests in Intergovernmental Relations, Old Growth, land use policy, and implementation of the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Previous to that, he worked as a lawyer at the Head Office of Public Prosecution Services in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Hassan is on the board of directors for IPAC-Victoria and a member of The View from BC’s editorial team.

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