Cabinet of Canada
The Cabinet of Canada plays an important role in the Canadian government.It is a council of ministers chaired by the Prime Minister, and is part of the Westminster System and is based on the British original. (The terms "Cabinet" and "Ministry" are sometimes used interchangeably, a subtle inaccuracy which can spark confusion.) Technically, the Cabinet is a committee of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada however, in practice, it is actually the executive committee of the Canadian government.
| Table of contents |
|
2 Powers 3 Opposition Shadow Cabinets 4 Current Cabinet 5 Former portfolios 6 External link |
Prime MinisterComposition
Slightly fewer than forty Ministers of the Crown and Ministers of State presently comprise the cabinet proper. Each minister is not only responsible for advising the Prime Minister and other ministers on any and all political matters, but many also administer one or more specific portfolios. Most Ministers of the Crown are formal heads of a federal department or agency; Ministers of State are either assigned more specific responsibilities outside or spanning the departmental structure or are named to cabinet without portfolio.
Parliamentary Secretaries also assist members of Cabinet, usually with their duties answering questions in the House of Commons. While they have been members of the Privy Council since 2003, they are not members of the actual Cabinet.
The Prime Minister often assigns a ministers to be responsible for a specific problem or initiative that may cut across departmental boundaries. This is usually described as having the
The number of ministers and their titles is selected by the Prime Minister. Throughout the 20th century Cabinets had been expanding in size until Brian Mulroney's government, which had over forty ministers. Since then, cabinets have hovered just below the forty minister mark.
Different ministries have widely varying levels of prestige. Unquestionably the most important minister is the Minister of Finance. Other high profile ministries include Defence, Foreign Affairs, Industry, Justice, and Health.
Selection
Nominally appointed by the Governor General the Cabinet is in practice selected by the Prime Minister. The selection of a cabinet is an extremely complex affair. There are a large number of conventions that must be met. There is usually a minister from each province in Canada, with a member taken from the Senate if there are no available Members of Parliament (MPs). 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 that 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.
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 House 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 timeframe or resign. This can often be accomplished by means of a by-election. See also responsible government
Powers
The cabinet has immense amounts of power in the Canadian system, as on account of a fairly weak legislature almost all bills proposed by the Cabinet are enacted. Combined with a comparatively tiny 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 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.
Cabinet itself 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 currently include the Aboriginal Affairs, Canada-U.S., Domestic Affairs, Expenditure Review, Global Affairs, Government Operations, and Security, Public Health & Emergencies. Each committee chaired by senior minister whose own portfolio normally intersects with the mandate of the committee. Important committees are chaired by the Prime Minister or the Deputy Prime Minister. A Priorities and Planning Committee, or "Inner Cabinet," 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. During the Chrétien Ministry, the number of cabinet committees was greatly reduced, however they returned to a more "normal" alignment when Paul Martin took office.
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." There is also a Bloc Québécois Shadow Cabinet and a New Democratic Party Shadow Cabinet.
Current Cabinet
The inaugural Cabinet of the 27th Ministry was sworn in December 12 2003. The last cabinet shuffle occurred on July 20 2004.
See also: List of Canadian Parliamentary Secretaries
Former portfolios
External link