RE Group - John MacFarlane

Biographical Sketch

Candidate for RE Group Executive: John MacFarlane

I have been a historical researcher (HR) within the RE Group at DND since 2000. I have been involved with PIPSC in many roles, including:

  • Steward (from 2002-4 and 2007 to present)
  • Member of the NDHQ-RE subgroup executive (2003 to present)
  • Member of National Capital Region by-laws and policies committee (2016 to present)

I have also participated in most of the PIPSC and RE Annual General Meetings since 2002 and become familiar with the institutional structure and the many issues of interest to researchers. The RE executive has tackled a variety of complex questions over the past 18 years, improving working conditions to allow researchers to better serve the Canadian public. Equally important, the executive has helped prevent potential threats. Without exception the successes of the RE Group have been assisted by our colleagues in the other professional groups of PIPSC (most recently with the battle for scientific integrity). I would welcome the opportunity to help continue these collaborative efforts, notably related to the constantly evolving administrative burden on researchers, and the risks of contracting work outside our talented public service (ie. Phoenix).