McGuinty to replace top bureaucrat Shelly Jamieson

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is replacing his government's top bureaucrat.

A senior government official confirmed a report on Tuesday that cabinet secretary Shelly Jamieson is departing after four years as the head of the Ontario Public Service.

Rumours about Ms. Jamieson's future had been circulating since the province's Oct. 6 election, but as recently as last week government officials insisted that a decision had not yet been made. On Tuesday, the Premier's office suggested the decision was her own.

Ms. Jamieson was a surprise appointment in 2007, having spent only two years in the public service after a lengthy career in the private sector.

It's widely believed within government that a bigger shuffle of deputy ministers will follow Ms. Jamieson's departure. Peter Wallace, currently the deputy minister of finance, is the likeliest candidate to step into her job.