|
YUKON
I DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
The Yukon Cabinet is the executive
decision-making body of government. The Cabinet is chaired by the Government Leader. While
the size of Cabinet may vary slightly, it currently consists of six Ministers, including
the Government Leader. Each member of the Cabinet has responsibility for two or more
portfolios.
There are currently four Cabinet
committees:
- Management Board (3 members, 3 alternates);*
- Cabinet Committee on Social Issues (4);*
- Cabinet Committee on Economic and Environmental Issues (4); and
- Cabinet Committee on Legislation (3).
The committees are advisory in nature,
providing strategic advice and recommendations to Cabinet.
In addition, the government has established
three
Cabinet Commissions:
- Cabinet Commission on Energy;
- Cabinet Commission on Forests; and
- Cabinet Commission on the Development Assessment Process.
These Commissions were established to
develop policies on key government priorities, as identified by Cabinet. Each
Commission is headed by a Government backbencher, who serves as a Commissioner,
and is supported by a Deputy Minister who acts as a Deputy Commissioner, and two support
staff seconded from within the public service. Each Commissioner chairs a sub-committee of
Cabinet focused on the Commission’s work.
The Commissions develop policy in their
three areas of specialization, conduct extensive consultations, generate background
information and identify options for consideration by Cabinet. When a Commission reports,
the Government responds within a reasonable time frame.
The Commissions are considered a valuable
component of the decision-making process: they foster greater participation of
backbenchers in this process and allow for an integrated analysis of cross-departmental
policy issues. The Commissions are an innovation of the current Government of the Yukon.
Cabinet normally meets weekly
to provide direction to departments on a variety of government initiatives. For the most
part, its decisions are based on submissions put forward by Ministers and their
departments for Cabinet’s consideration. Business that comes before Cabinet can be
divided into the following four broad categories: policy, legislation, statutory
instruments (including both Orders in Council and Ministerial Orders), and ministerial
appointments.
The Cabinet review process begins with a
paper prepared by a line department, after extensive consultation with central agencies,
affected departments, etc. The paper is sent to the Executive Council Office, which is
responsible for forwarding the paper to the appropriate committee of officials for review.
Cabinet committees may be used at a variety of points in the review process. However, not
all issues are forwarded to Cabinet committees. Usually, complex issues or problems that
require issue identification and problem definition are routed through Cabinet committees.
Once the review process is completed, the
department finalizes the submission. The Deputy Minister and the Minister of the
sponsoring department, as well as the Deputy Ministers of any affected departments, will
sign off. The submission is sent to the Executive Council Office, where policy analysis is
conducted. Once this analysis is completed, the submission is brought before Cabinet for
final decision.
There are 17 members of the Legislative
Assembly; 11 sit on the Government benches, of whom six are Ministers. Of the five
government backbenchers, three are Commissioners and one is the Speaker of the Legislative
Assembly. The remaining Government backbencher served as Commissioner on Yukon Hire, but
this Commission, having completed its work, was recently wound up.
II CENTRAL AGENCIES
The Government Leader and the Cabinet are
supported in the exercise of their responsibilities by several central agencies: the
Government Leader’s Office, the Executive Council Office, the Department of Finance
and the Public Service Commission.
In addition, the Department of Justice
provides legal advice and legislative support. The Department of Government Services
provides central support to departments, which includes the services of the Queen’s
Printer, contract services, property management, and transportation, communications and
information assistance.
1. The Government Leader’s Office
The Government Leader’s Office is
comprised of political staff members reporting to him through the Chief of Staff. The
Government Leader’s political staff and the Ministers’ political staff are
governed by the Cabinet and Caucus Employees Act, and not by the Public Service
Act: they are not public servants.
The office provides the Government Leader
with political advice and support on a wide range of issues such as political strategies,
constituency matters and communications issues. As well, the office ensures liaison with
Ministers and caucus. The Government Leader’s Office plays an active role in the
coordination and monitoring of major issues that are of interest to the Government.
However, the Government Leader’s Office
does not maintain a policy development or policy analysis capacity. That function is
exercised by the Executive Council Office and by individual government departments.
2. The Executive Council Office
The Executive Council Office is headed by
the Cabinet Secretary and Deputy Minister of the Executive Council Office.
The Cabinet Secretary has three principal functions:
- as Deputy Minister to the Government Leader, to
provide advice and support to the Government Leader on the full range of his
responsibilities as head of government;
- as Secretary to Cabinet, to provide advice and
support to Cabinet and oversee the provision of policy and secretariat support to Cabinet
and its committees; and
- as the most senior Deputy Minister, to provide
leadership and overall coordination of government priorities, strategies, organization and
renewal.
The Executive Council Office is responsible
for supporting the operations of Cabinet. The agenda is set by the Government Leader,
based on advice received from the Cabinet Secretary. The Executive Council Office prepares
formal analyses of Cabinet submissions, to assist Cabinet decision-making by examining the
completeness of submissions and determining whether a range of considerations (e.g.,
financial, legal, land claims implications, public communications), as well as the
Government’s overall goals have been taken into account. The Executive Council Office
also provides secretariat support to the committees of Cabinet.
In addition to supporting Cabinet
decision-making through the analysis of submissions to Cabinet, the Executive Council
Office also undertakes policy development in areas of key cross-departmental initiatives,
as well as areas of specific departmental responsibility. In addition, it chairs the
interdepartmental committee of policy directors charged with the review of government
policy initiatives, prior to consideration by Cabinet, to ensure that implications of
recommendations are fully considered and take account of impacts on the public, other
departments, and existing policies and programs.
In addition to its role in supporting
Cabinet and Cabinet decision-making, the department has responsibility for
intergovernmental relations, including relations with First Nation governments.
Traditionally, the Government Leader of the Yukon has held the portfolio of
intergovernmental affairs.
Management of the Yukon’s relations
with other governments and overall coordination of intergovernmental activities rests with
the Executive Council Office. The Intergovernmental Relations Branch of the department,
headed by an Assistant Deputy Minister, and reporting through the Secretary to Cabinet,
has lead responsibility for negotiations of the transfer of provincial-type
responsibilities in the natural resource area, now exercised by the Department of Indian
Affairs and Northern Development, to the Yukon Government. The Yukon also has an Ottawa
office responsible for matters related to intergovernmental affairs, including financial
matters.
In addition to its central agency
functions, the Executive Council Office also carries out several program
functions, by providing government-wide services in the areas of public
communications, internal audit, statistics, and French and Aboriginal Languages. The
office also has responsibility for the negotiating and overall implementation of First
Nation land claims and self-government agreements. As well, the Executive Council Office
provides support to the Commissioner of the Yukon whose role is similar to that of a
lieutenant governor in a province. The Commissioner’s duties include signing legal
documents, assenting to legislation and issuing proclamations.
Interactions between the Government
Leader’s Office and the Executive Council Office are substantial. The offices have
opted for informal consultation and collaboration mechanisms which allow them to provide
high quality advice and support to the Government Leader.
3. Department of Finance
The Department of Finance provides overall
management of the Government’s financial resources to ensure they meet the priorities
of Government and statutory obligations.
Responsibility for overall fiscal management
and resource allocation rests with Management Board, a Cabinet committee
established under the Financial Administration Act as the financial and management
committee of Cabinet. Subject to the Financial Administration Act and the direction
of Cabinet, it makes the strategic decisions on financial and human resources and
government assets. Given the relatively small size of the Yukon Cabinet, all Ministers
regularly attend Management Board and participate fully in its deliberations.
Policy support for the Board is provided by
the Department of Finance, headed by the Deputy Minister of Finance, who
also serves as the Secretary to Management Board. The Cabinet Secretary and the
Public Service Commissioner also act as advisors to the Board. Both the Department of
Finance and the Executive Council Office provide secretariat support to Management Board.
The budget process is modelled after the
traditional process that is found at the federal level, as well as in most provinces.
The financial planning and budgetary control
process used by the Yukon Government is determined by Management Board. The Cabinet will
first set the corporate goals and priorities for the government at large. Line departments
are responsible for preparing and obtaining approval for strategic plans, departmental and
program objectives and capital plan narratives, where appropriate.
Budgeting is the second major component of
the fiscal planning process: an overview memorandum is prepared and reviewed by Management
Board. Following this review, five-year capital financial plans are prepared and approved,
as well as operations and maintenance budgets. The Yukon Legislative Assembly then debates
and approves the budgets.
The final component is budgetary control.
implementation of budgets and plans by departments is monitored, controlled and revised,
and this exercise leads into the next planning cycle. Public Accounts are prepared at
year-end, audited by the Auditor General, tabled in the Legislative Assembly, and reviewed
by the Public Accounts Committee.
4. Public Service Commission
The Public Service Commission provides human
resource management services to departments. The Commission is responsible for
safeguarding the merit principle and for overseeing the proper functioning of the appeal
mechanism. A representative of the Public Service Commission sits on selection panels and
certifies the choice made when filling a vacant position.
III THE SENIOR LEVELS OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE
The Government Leader selects all Deputy
Ministers based on a certification of qualification by the Public Service Commission. All
Deputy Ministers report to the Government Leader. Deputy Ministers are appointed by
Order in Council under the Public Service Act. With the exception of the Public
Service Commissioner, they hold office at pleasure for an initial term of up to five
years. They may be reappointed for further periods. The Public Service Commissioner is
appointed for a term of up to ten years and can be removed for "just cause".
Letters of undertaking are prepared each
year following discussions with the Deputy Minister, the Minister, the Deputy
Minister of the Executive Council and the Government Leader. The letters are based on
government goals and they are subject to final approval by the Government Leader. The
letters serve as a mandate for the Deputy Minister, and are used as the basis for the
annual performance evaluation.
The Government Leader and the appropriate
Minister are responsible for all performance evaluations and reviews of Deputy Ministers,
working closely with the Deputy Minister of the Executive Council. The Deputy
Minister’s performance is measured against the objectives set out in the letter of
undertaking.
The Deputy Minister of the Executive Council
Office and Secretary to Cabinet leads the Deputy Minister community. He or she holds
informal meetings on a weekly basis for all Deputies, as well as the more formal bi-weekly
meetings of the Deputy Minister Review Committee. These meetings allow the Cabinet
Secretary to communicate the government’s vision of the future of the public service.
These meetings also enable the Deputy Ministers to deal in a coherent and effective
fashion with initiatives that cross departmental lines.
* The figure appearing in parentheses
indicates the number of Cabinet Ministers who are members of the committee.
* Membership on the three following
committees include Ministers and Deputy Ministers from the relevant program areas.
Annex 1 - Cabinet Review Process Flow Chart
[ Table
of Contents ]
|
