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Cabinet of Canada
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The Cabinet of Canada plays an important role in the Government of Canada, in accordance with the Westminster System.
A council of ministers of the Crown chaired by the Prime Minister, the Cabinet is the senior echelon of the Ministry; the terms Cabinet and Ministry are sometimes used interchangeably, a subtle inaccuracy which can spark confusion. Although the membership of the Ministry and the Cabinet are often coterminal, currently there are five members of the Ministry that are not members of the Cabinet.
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The Cabinet of Canada plays an important role in the Government of Canada, in accordance with the Westminster System.
A council of ministers of the Crown chaired by the Prime Minister, the Cabinet is the senior echelon of the Ministry; the terms Cabinet and Ministry are sometimes used interchangeably, a subtle inaccuracy which can spark confusion. Although the membership of the Ministry and the Cabinet are often coterminal, currently there are five members of the Ministry that are not members of the Cabinet. Technically, the Cabinet is a committee of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada; in practice, it is the executive committee of the Canadian government.
For practical reasons, the Cabinet is referred to in relation to the Prime Minister in charge of it, though formally it is more common to refer to the number of ministries since confederation. The cabinet is the Harper Cabinet, which is part of the 28th Ministry.
Composition
The Cabinet proper comprises 38 ministers. Each minister is responsible not only for advising the Monarch, Governor General, Prime Minister and other ministers on any and all political matters, but also for the general administration of at least one government portfolio.
A Minister of the Crown is usually the formal head of a corresponding federal department or agency, although there are exceptions: positions such as the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and the President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada have no corresponding department, while some Ministers of the Crown (such as the Minister for International Cooperation) head agencies under the umbrella of a department run by another Minister. The Prime Minister is entitled to appoint ministers without portfolio, but this has not been done since 1978.
Ministers of state are assigned specific responsibilities on a more ad hoc basis, which they fulfill from within a department under a full minister. The portfolios of ministers of state are considerably more transient, as positions may be created and dissolved to suit specific short-term government priorities or the specific qualifications of candidates without alterations to the departmental structure. In recent years, prime ministers have occasionally named individuals as minister of state but not specified any particular responsibilities, effectively making them ministers without portfolio. Unlike many other Westminster-model governments, ministers of state in Canada are full members of Cabinet rather than members of the Ministry outside it; this has the effect of making the Canadian Cabinet considerably larger than its British, Australian or New Zealand equivalents, although Ministries in these countries might have a total membership in excess of the Canadian version.
Secretaries of state, also often dubbed "junior ministers," are similar to ministers of state in that they too are assigned specific responsibilities on a more ad hoc basis, which they fulfill from within a department under a full minister. Unlike ministers of state, secretaries of state are members of the Ministry but not of the Cabinet, and technically they can attend cabinet meetings by invitation only. Appointing secretaries of state rather than ministers of state has been done in the past by governments conscious of including more MPs in their ministry without attracting public outcry for "expanding cabinet," however technical this distinction might be in practice. Secretaries of state fulfilled most of their tasks carried out by ministers of state from 1993 to 2003; consequently there were only a handful of ministers of state during this time. In 2007 Stephen Harper resumed the practice of appointing secretaries of state.
Parliamentary Secretaries also assist members of Cabinet, usually with their duties answering questions in the House of Commons. Prime Minister Paul Martin had his Parliamentary Secretaries sworn to the Privy Council, but they are members of neither the Cabinet nor Ministry. Martin is the only Prime Minister to have had his Parliamentary Secretaries sworn into the Privy Council.
Deputy Ministers are neither MPs nor Cabinet Ministers but are the senior civil servant in a governmental department and assist the Minister both by giving non-partisan advice and by assisting in the administration of the department. Each ministerial position in a government has an associated deputy ministership, such as Deputy Minister of Health. The chief civil servant who both leads the other deputy ministers and provides non-partisan advice to the Prime Minister is the Clerk of the Privy Council, who is essentially the Deputy Minister of the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister often assigns a minister to be responsible for a specific problem or initiative that may cut across departmental boundaries. This is usually described as having the file.
Different positions have widely varying levels of prestige. The most important minister, following the premier, is the Minister of Finance. Other high profile ministries include Foreign Affairs, Industry, Justice, and Health.
Committee structure
The Priorities and Planning Committee of Cabinet is often referred to as the "inner cabinet" by observers. It is the body that sets the strategic directions for the government, approves key appointments and ratifies committee memberships. Other Cabinet committees include Operations, Treasury Board, Social Affairs, Economic Growth and Long-Term Prosperity, Foreign Affairs and Security and Environment and Energy Security.
Restructuring
As with other Westminster derived governments but unlike the United States Cabinet, the size and structure of the Canadian cabinet is relatively malleable, with the number of ministers and their titles generally selected by the Prime Minister within a relatively broad legislative framework. Fairly substantial changes, including the realignment of certain departments, can be carried out without even the need for legislation. The slate of cabinet positions tends to be substantially restructured periodically, with the last major period of realignment occurring from 1993 to 1996.
Throughout the 20th century Cabinets had been expanding in size until Brian Mulroney's government, which hit the 40-minister mark. A reduction in the number of departments initiated by Kim Campbell began to reduce this number, and Jean Chrétien excluded approximately 10 members of the Ministry from the formal Cabinet, so that by 1994 there were only 23 members. This number has crawled upwards again, and when Paul Martin reincorporated all members of the Ministry into his first Cabinet, it again resulted in the figure of 39 being reached. The number 40 appears to be something of a psychological barrier to further expansion. Cabinet membership stands today (2008) at 38.
Selection
Nominally the Cabinet is appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister, which means that in practice the Prime Minister selects the members. The process of selection is an extremely complex affair, as in addition to personal qualifications of the possible ministers there is a number of conventions that have to be followed. There is usually a minister from each province in Canada, visible minorities must be represented, and as many women as possible should be included. Interest groups that support the government also need to be appeased. Each member of the governing party desires a cabinet position and there are always some members who feel embittered at being passed over. The process is difficult and one of the most important decisions a Prime Minister must make. John A. Macdonald once half-jokingly listed his occupation as cabinet maker. Although nearly all of those chosen to serve as ministers are MPs, cabinets typically also include at least one senator, and it is not unusual for one or more additional senators to be included, especially to represent regions where the governing party has few or no seats. Further, a person who is neither an MP nor a senator can be appointed, but it is traditional that such a person rapidly seek election as an MP or be appointed to the senate.
Responsible government
As dictated by convention, members of Cabinet are held accountable for their decisions by the elected House of Commons. This means cabinet ministers are expected to introduce and defend new legislation regarding their portfolio within the Commons and answer questions on their job performance from the Opposition. Consequently, there is a traditional expectation that members of Cabinet also sit as elected MPs. Cabinets are generally appointed from amongst the governing party's pool of MPs; should a prime minister appoint a cabinet minister from outside Parliament, it is expected that the individual acquire a seat within a reasonable time or resign. This can often be accomplished by means of a by-election. The last cabinet minister to be neither an MP nor a Senator was Michael Fortier, who was appointed Minister of Public Works and Government Services on February 6, 2006, two weeks before being appointed to the Senate. See also responsible government.
Powers
The cabinet has significant power in the Canadian system, and as the government usually has a majority of seats in the legislature almost all bills proposed by the Cabinet are enacted. Combined with a comparatively small proportion of bills originating with individual members of parliament (Private Members' Bills), this leads to Cabinet having almost total control over the legislative agenda of the House of Commons.
It is within Cabinet that many of the most important debates on Canadian policy take place. All cabinet meetings are held behind closed doors and the minutes are kept confidential for thirty years. Cabinet members are forbidden from discussing what occurs in cabinet meetings. Decisions made in cabinet must be unanimous, though this often occurs at the Prime Minister's direction. Once a decision is made all Cabinet members must publicly support it. If any of these rules are violated, the offending minister is usually removed by the Prime Minister. If the disagreement within the cabinet is strong a minister may resign, as did John Napier Turner in 1975 on the subject of wage and price controls, and Michael Chong in 2006 over nationhood for "the Québécois."
Cabinet itself (or "full Cabinet") is further divided into committees. The Treasury Board is one of the most important, as it oversees the expenditure of government money within every department. Since 1966, a specific minister has been named President of the Treasury Board, owing to the especially taxing nature of the duties associated with chairing it and supervising the related bureaucracy. Other committees (see ) currently include Government Operations, Social Affairs, Economic Affairs, and Foreign Affairs and National Security. Each committee is chaired by a senior minister whose own portfolio normally intersects with the mandate of the committee. A Priorities and Planning Committee, or "Inner Cabinet," , chaired by the Prime Minister, has been sporadically utilized; in recent years Jean Chrétien did not strike one, while Paul Martin briefly brought it back before eliminating it once again. Stephen Harper has revived the Priorities and Planning Committee for his government. During the Chrétien Ministry, the number of cabinet committees was greatly reduced. They were increased by Paul Martin and have been reduced again by Stephen Harper.
Opposition shadow cabinets
Each opposition party appoints what is known as a Shadow Cabinet, with each of its members "shadowing" one or more cabinet portfolios. The Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet is especially relevant, as it is seen as a "government in waiting." Members of a shadow cabinet are often but not always appointed to a Cabinet post if and when their party forms government. It is the Shadow Cabinet's responsibility to pass criticism on the current government and its respective legislation, as well as offering alternative policies. There is also a Bloc Québécois Shadow Cabinet, a New Democratic Party Shadow Cabinet, and a Green Party Shadow Cabinet which currently operates outside of Parliament.
Current Cabinet
The Conservative Party of Canada won elections on January 23, 2006 to the 39th Canadian parliament and formed a minority government, the 28th Ministry, which was sworn in on February 6 with Stephen Harper as Prime Minister. The make up of the cabinet was changed on November 27, 2006, January 4, 2007, August 14, 2007, and again on June 25, 2008. The makeup of the Cabinet was further changed following the election of October 14, 2008, the 40th Canadian federal election on October 30, 2008.
*Member of the Priorities and Planning Committee of Cabinet
Former portfolios
External links
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