Privy Council Office, Guidance for Deputy Ministers, 2003
[extract]
Supporting
the Minister's Individual and Collective Responsibilities
[...]
In a democracy such as Canada's, elected representatives have the central
role in bringing their constituents' perspectives to bear on matters of state
policy, legislation and expenditure. Recognizing the primacy of elected
representatives in this role, the increasing scope and complexity of
departmental and governmental operations often require that public servants, at
the direction of their Ministers, carry out consultations with Canadians,
provincial governments and other parties implicated in policy matters. This
supports the responsibility of Ministers to bring forward policies, programs and
legislation that take into account Canadians' views, and such efforts must be
designed to complement, and not to replace, the role of parliamentary
representatives.
Deputy Ministers' policy advice must also be mindful of the Minister's
collective responsibility and ensure that advice is drawn from an appreciation
of the government-wide agenda and the impacts of a particular initiative. In
preparing proposals for Cabinet consideration, other departments must be
consulted so that the views of the Prime Minister and other Ministers are taken
into account, and disagreements identified and resolved. The support and
collaboration of other Ministers may also be necessary for the success of a
proposal, and the need to coordinate the responsibilities of several Ministers
in order to take certain initiatives is now the rule rather than the exception.
This is done through inter-departmental working groups and consultation or
negotiation with other Ministers or their officials. At each step in the policy
development and implementation process, Deputy Ministers are required to support
their Ministers.
Continuous improvement in service to Canadians depends on the capacity of
departments to measure levels of satisfaction, to set improvement targets, to
develop plans to meet those targets, to monitor implementation and to report
back on progress. Deputy Ministers are expected to ensure that their departments
perform these tasks and ensure attentiveness to citizens' priorities for service
improvement from a “whole of government” perspective.
[...]
Extract taken from Part 1 of Section II: "Responsibilities of the Deputy Minister". Click here to view the complete document..
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