The Machinery of Government Chapter 8

1. The Machinery of GovernmentChapter 8

2. The Division of Labour in Democratic Governance • There are three principal functions associated with governance: • legislative (making the laws), • executive (implementing the laws), • judicial (interpreting the laws) • But what laws will be made? • Who influences what ideas are considered and how laws are framed? • Is it always evident how the laws should be implemented, or is there room for discretion, and exercised by whom? • What factors determine which laws may be challenged, the likelihood that a challenge will be successful, and the predilections of judges in interpreting the laws?

3. The Executive Branch The formal executive consists of the monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, and her representative in Canada, the Governor-General, currently ______________.

4. Only symbolic? The Queen is the Canadian Head of State The G-G performs ceremonial and symbolic functions on behalf of the Queen, reading the speech from the throne, conferring Order of Canada memberships, greeting foreign dignitaries, etc. But the G-G may, in some circumstances, play a role in the selection of the prime minister and government King-Byng Affair of 1926; Constitutional kerfuffle of 2008 Constitutionalists differ on the appropriate role and powers of the G-G under the constitution

5. A policy role for the G-G? Adrienne Clarkson occasionally expressed her views, and even criticisms, on policy matters in ways that some considered controversial Michaëlle Jean continued this practice, expressing her views in a rather general way on certain matters of social policy

6. The Prime Minister Unlike the monarch and the G-G, the office of the prime minister is not mentioned in the constitution The PM is the head of government and always the single most influential person in Canadian government The PM determines who will be in cabinet, the timing of elections, the government’s legislative and budget priorities, the structure of the government of Canada

7. More on the Power of the PM The centrality of the PM in the Canadian system of government is reinforced by the relative weakness of political party organizations, the tradition of party discipline, the sanctions that the PM can bring to bear on MPs of his party who are uncooperative, and the media’s focus on the PM as the person ultimately responsible for the government’s performance

8. Cabinet and Ministers Although the term ‘cabinet’ is not found in the constitution, the term ‘privy council’ is Formally speaking, cabinet ministers do not have to be MPs, but they almost always are (a senator or two may also be selected by the PM for a cabinet position) The influence of an individual minister will depend on his or her status in the party, reputation in the country or support from significant constituencies, and the position that he or she holds in the government

9. Representation in Cabinet PMs have always been sensitive to include representation from particularly important groups, particularly the French and English communities and regions of the country (see Figure 8.2) Religion was once an important criterion in selecting a cabinet Gender and ethnicity have become significant selection criteria

10. Ministerial Accountability and the Collective Responsibility of Cabinet Ministerial accountability: strict version and its evolution into something that is more accurately described as ministerial answerability The collective responsibility of cabinet means that the government should speak with a single voice: disagreements that may and will exist around the cabinet table should give way to a single position before the House and the public

11. Setting Priorities and the Legislative Agenda Speech from the Throne Expenditure budget Revenue budget and economic statements White papers; royal commissions; task forces Almost all legislation passed by parliament has been introduced by a government minister

12. Cabinet Decision-making Different PMs have different styles, some more collegial and some more authoritarian Since the late 1960s, under Pierre Trudeau, a system of cabinet committees has existed to help deal with the business of government Current committees and their memberships may be viewed at http://www.pm.gc.ca/grfx/docs/Cab_committee-comite.pdf

13. Central Agencies Parts of the bureaucracy whose main or only purpose is to support the decision-making activities of cabinet Department of Finance, www.fin.gc.ca Privy Council Office (and Intergovernmental Affairs), www.pco.gc.ca Treasury Board Secretariat, www.tbs.gc.ca Prime Minister’s Office, www.pm.gc.ca

14. Prime Ministerial Government Canada’s system of government centralizes policy-making power in and around the office of the prime minister to a greater degree than the American system concentrates power in the White House Donald Savoie and Jeffrey Simpson are among those who argue that not only has the influence of Parliament been effectively eclipsed by the growth of prime ministerial government, but cabinet, too, has been left on the margins of the policy-making process

15. The Bureaucracy Policy implementation is the role of the bureaucracy Implementation is not, however, an automatic process of converting legislative decisions into action. Unelected officials often wield enormous discretion in applying laws and administering programs The bureaucracy’s influence is not restricted to the implementation stage of policy-making. It begins at the agenda-setting stage, when problems and possible responses are being defined

16. Components of the Public Sector The public service. About half of the federal public sector falls into this category which includes all statutory departments and other organizations whose members are employees of the Treasury Board Agencies and tribunals. These include such regulatory bodies as the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the National Transportation Agency, and the National Energy Board

17. More Components of the Public Sector Crown corporations. These are organizations that, in some cases, perform commercial functions and typically operate at ‘arm’s length’ from the government of the day. Examples include the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Export Development Canada, the Farm Credit Corporation and Via Rail Other organizations. Canadian Forces, the RCMP, independent commissioners reporting to Parliament, including the Privacy Commissioner, the Commissioner of Official Languages and the Auditor-General

18. Issues Concerning the Bureaucracy’s Role and Performance Administrative discretion Partisan neutrality The role of the deputy-minister Representation and responsiveness “On top” or “on tap”? (see http://www.yes-minister.com )

19. The Legislature House of Commons, elected, with 308 members and ‘rough’ representation by population; the Senate, unelected, with 105 members and representation of regions Formal powers of the two chambers are quite similar For most of its history, the Senate deferred to the will of the Commons, but since the mid-1980s there have been a number of clashes in circumstances where the Senate refused to pass measures approved by the House

20. Functions of the Legislature Scrutinizing government performance (Question Period; role of the opposition) Law-making or law-passing? Role of committees, parliamentary caucuses Backbench MPs Are MPs, as Pierre Trudeau once said ‘nobodies’?

21. The Courts Responsibility for Canada’s judicial system is divided between Ottawa and the provinces The Constitution assigns responsibility for the administration of justice and for law enforcement to the provinces, but also empowers the Ottawa to create federal courts (the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada) The structure of Canada’s court system is shown in Figure 8.5

22. A Sociological Perspective on the Judicial Elite Judges, observes Miliband, ‘are by no means, and cannot be, independent of the multitude of influences, notably of class origin, education, class situation and professional tendency, which contribute as much to the formation of their view of the world as they do in the case of other men.’

23. Is there evidence of class or other bias on the part of the courts? Historically, the courts tended to be a conservative force in society and politics This resulted from the background and training of judges and the nature of the judicial process, with its emphasis on precedent In the Charter era of Canadian politics, judges have shown themselves to be quite open to reasoning and claims that favor ‘underdogs’ over the powerful and established The adoption of the ‘substantive equality’ interpretation of s.15 of the Charter is an important illustration of this

24. Controversies Concerning the Courts Accessibility Captured by the ‘Charter Party’? (Morton and Knopf’s argument) Have they to some degree usurped functions that properly belong to elected governments? Justices expressing personal views on policy matters (see Box 8.9)