THE CABINET
The Cabinet is the Government of Canada’s key decision-making forum. The
Prime Minister is the leader of Cabinet and decides on its size, membership, and
responsibilities. The current Cabinet has twenty-eight Ministers.
Cabinet Ministers are usually Members of Parliament or Senators from the same
political party as the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister chooses Cabinet
Ministers based on their individual expertise, the value of including
representatives of all regions and drawing on the full diversity of Canadian
life.
The Prime Minister and the rest of the Cabinet meet regularly to discuss and
decide on important issues affecting the government and Canadian society, such
as:
- major government spending decisions;
- proposals on new or amended laws for Parliament to consider; and
- major new policies, programs and services.
Ministers may also come to Cabinet or its committees to provide information
on emerging or important issues, even if no decision is needed.
How Cabinet and its Committees are Structured
Because the Government of Canada has many responsibilities, the Cabinet has a
large workload. The whole Cabinet normally meets every week when the House of
Commons is in session. Because of the complexity of public policy issues,
almost all proposals for Cabinet are first reviewed by smaller committees of
Ministers. Cabinet has five formal committees:
The Cabinet Committee for Economic Union
This committee looks at issues with significant economic impacts. For
example, it deals with industrial and finance issues, natural resources and
agriculture, and research, development and innovation.
The Cabinet Committee for Social Union
This committee reviews proposals from departments and Ministers on
initiatives to support the development of Canadian society. For example, it
deals with health, children, learning, safe communities and Aboriginal issues.
The Treasury Board
This committee focuses on overall government management. That includes
attention to proper and effective use of public funds, ensuring that the
Government of Canada manages its employees well, and bringing the highest
quality service to Canadians.
The Special Committee of Council
Most Canadian laws are supported by regulations that spell out how the laws
will work in detail. This committee is primarily responsible for reviewing and
approving new and amended regulations.
The Cabinet Committee on Government Communications
This committee looks at government-wide communications issues, and works to
ensure consistency in how all parts of the government reach out to better
inform and listen to Canadians.
How Cabinet Decides
Ministers need Cabinet approval before presenting a new law for approval by
Parliament. They normally also need that approval for major new policy, program
and service initiatives from their departments.
There are a series of steps that a typical proposal will go through on its
way to Cabinet for a decision:
- The Minister, his or her staff and the department develop a formal
proposal, including different options for Cabinet to choose from.
- On most major new policy initiatives,
Ministers and officials consult the provinces, territories, interested groups
and individuals.
- They consult with other Ministers, departments and agencies in the
government that could be interested in the proposal or affected by it.
- The Minister approves a formal document with clear options that is
assigned to a Cabinet committee for review.
- The Privy Council Office reviews, provides advice on, and
distributes the document so that Ministers and departments involved have time to
review it.
- Once a Cabinet committee agrees to a proposal, it then goes to full
Cabinet.
- Cabinet reviews the proposal and it may ask the Minister to make
further changes prior to final approval.
- Throughout all this process, the Prime Minister is responsible for
Cabinet decision-making and he or she establishes a consensus that all Cabinet
members support and defend under Canada’s parliamentary tradition.
Readers seeking a more detailed description
may refer to Chapter 2 (Cabinet Government and the Prime Minister) of the
detailed paper on "The Responsibilities of the Privy Council Office".
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