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This section describes the objectives and mechanisms for portfolio management to ensure
that all organizations under a Minister’s authority work together in the most
effective fashion within the context of maintaining appropriate agency independence.1.
Portfolio
In the organization of the federal government, each Minister is responsible for a
portfolio, which consists of the organizations reporting to the Minister, and those for
which the Minister has been designated responsible. They can include:
- a department that has a role in shaping future policies and laws, and, in some cases,
delivers services to Canadians; and
- agencies, boards and commissions that take many forms and are established to undertake a
wide variety of functions, including providing advice, undertaking research, providing
grants, regulating particular economic sectors of industries, and carrying out specialized
adjudicative functions affecting individual rights; and/or
- Crown corporations that provide specific services on a commercial basis.
Each of the organizations is different. They have different mandates, a variety of
organizational structures, and a different relationship to the Minister. However, they all
provide services to Canadians and report to Ministers, and through Ministers, to
Parliament.
2. What is Portfolio Management?
Building on existing statutory roles under a Minister’s authority, portfolio
management is about encouraging all organizations to work together in the most appropriate
and effective fashion, consistent with statute. It is a tool to secure coherence in
developing and implementing the Government’s policy and programs to accomplish its
objectives and effectively deliver services to Canadians. It is a means of:
- achieving better governance;
- ensuring better policy, legislation and program coordination; and
- supporting Ministers in their oversight of their portfolios by giving them the best
public service advice.
It is important to note that portfolio management does not mean a change in
accountability. The arm’s length relationship and the independent status of agencies,
boards and commissions will continue to be respected. Similarly, with respect to Crown
corporations, their original purpose as an instrument of public policy, and in some cases,
their ability to participate competitively in the market place, will not change.
To be an effective means to augment the contribution towards achieving the
Government’s objectives and priorities, portfolio management requires the concerted
and cooperative efforts of all concerned -- Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and heads of
agencies and other organizations in the portfolio. With the necessary flexibility,
portfolio management can serve as a valuable tool for the government to strengthen its
capacity to effectively develop policy, as well as to deliver programs and services to
Canadians. A brief description of the respective roles of Deputy Ministers and heads of
other portfolio organizations follows.
3. Role of Deputy Ministers
The Deputy Minister is responsible for advising the Minister on the coherent policy
development and management of the Minister’s portfolio. On behalf of the Minister,
the Deputy Minister has specific responsibility to ensure appropriate coordination of the
portfolio, tailored to the Minister’s responsibility for each organization in the
portfolio. This could be achieved, for example, by holding regular meetings with all heads
of agencies in the portfolio to exchange information, to coordinate portfolio-wide issues,
and to ensure joint participation in the decision-making process. All activities in
enhancing portfolio management are carried out while respecting the statutory-based
relationship between a Minister and the agencies in the Minister’shis or her
portfolio.
4. Role of Heads of Organizations
Some heads of organizations are vested with powers and authorities directly by
Parliament. The roles and responsibilities of Ministers and Deputy Ministers with respect
to these organizations vary and are set out in their respective enabling legislation. It
is, therefore, essential that the right balance be struck between maintaining the
necessary arm’s length relationship established for the bodies and the
Minister’s responsibility for these organizations from the overall portfolio
perspective. Good working relationships between the agency head and the Deputy Minister,
as well as the Minister, enable effective cooperation and communciation and contributes to
successful portfolio management.
There are at least three areas where the involvement of heads of organizations is
beneficial in improving policy development and communication across the portfolio:
- sharing of expertise in ensuring relevance on any proposed legislative changes;
- appropriate cooperation on policy development with Deputy Ministers so that they may be
effective in giving sound policy advice to their Ministers; and
- sharing management practices to benefit from each other’s perspective and
experience.
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