Choose a department!

When a Cabinet is selected, not only is the Prime Minister making public the membership of his or her circle of close advisors, he or she is also selecting who is going to run the various federal departments across the government. Almost without exception, a Cabinet Minister is responsible for a department. These departments (as well as other agencies and federal bodies), and the public servants who work for them, are key in implementing the government’s program and policies for the country, and in governing as a whole.

Using the listing of government departments on the Canada web site (http://canada.gc.ca/depts/major/depind_e.html), students are to choose a department that most interests them.

Students are to research the department of their choice and answer the following questions regarding that department.

• Who is the Minister of the department?

• What is the mandate or mission of the department?

• What are the key programs the department has in place to fulfil its mandate/mission?

• What is the department’s budget?

Students are to present their research in an imaginative format that captures the essence of the department they studied. For example, for the Department of Canadian Heritage, the presentation might have an arts and culture flair (a skit or drama are possibilities).