Ch. 6 Flashcards
Redound
contribute greatly to (a person’s credit or honor).
“his latest diplomatic effort will redound to his credit”
Portent
a sign or warning that something, especially something momentous or calamitous, is likely to happen.
“they believed that wild birds in the house were portents of death”
Governor-In-Council
A Governor in Council (GIC) appointment is one made by the Governor General, on the advice of the Queen’s Privy Council of Canada (i.e., the Cabinet). The appointments are made through an Order in Council (OIC) and range from heads of agencies and chief executive officers of Crown corporations to members of quasi-judicial tribunals.
Panopoly
A collection of things.
Central executive
- Political and non-political elements of executive engaged in generating and coordinating central policy.
- Cabinet, cabinet committees, PMO (Prime Ministers Office), PCO (Privy Council Office), Department of Finance, Treasury Board Secretariat, etc.
Exigency
an urgent need or demand.
“women worked long hours when the exigencies of the family economy demanded it”
De novo
“from the new” - deciding on something without consideration of past rulings.
Dignified executive
authority
Queen, Governor General, privy council
Efficient executive
power
Prime minister, cabinet, public service
Institutionalized cabinet
Adopted by fed. and provinces
Governor General prov. equiv.
Lieutenant-Governor
Privy Council prov. equiv
Executive council
Prime minister prov. equiv.
Premier
Interlocutor
A person who takes part in a dialogue or conversation.
Prorogue
Discontinue a session of (a parliament or other legislative assembly) without dissolving it.
Cabinet formation
?
First Minister
Prime Minister
Collective Responsibility
Responsibility of cabinet:
- to the monarch
- Itself
- elected House
Convention of cabinet secrecy
Cabinet discussions should be accessible by courts unless disclosure will interfere with public interest.
Cabinet fed. v. prov.
Fed. cabinet smaller percentage of Commons than prov. assembly
Territorial Executives - lieutenant governor
Commissioner, now Premier
Territories: Party Politics v. Consensus Gov
Party Politics = Yukon
Consensus Government = NWT and Nunavut, everyone runs as an independent, similar to coalition government
Traditional Cabinet
1867 - 1920s
Before rise of administrative state and executive federalism
Departmentalized Cabinet/Unaided Cabinet
1920s - 1960s
Departments and ministers engines of public sector expansion
Ministers portfolio loyalty
Institutionalized cabinet
1960s - 1990s
central agencies and management techniques
Ministers represent government-wide priorities and objectives of cabinet
Greater power-sharing
Planning-budgeting nexus
Decision-making more structured in centralized cabinet
Post-Institutionalized cabinet
Court Government
Court Government
Donald Savoie
Spender-Guardian dichotomy
Power away from Ministers to centre
Prime minister and main ministers tell other ministers what to do; no collective policy-making with cabinet
The Differentiated Centre
David Good
Spenders (ministers), Guardians (finance and TB), Priority Setters (PMO, PCO) and Watchdogs (OAG)
Some agencies have more power than others
PMO
Prime Ministers Office
PCO
Privy Council Office
OAG
Office of the Auditor General
A-Base
B-Base
C-Base
Statutory
A-Base – permanent funding to the department;
B-Base – funding to the department that is managed through a special purpose allotment;
C-Base – funding that is temporary in nature (provided for a specific time period); and
Statutory – funding that is provided directly as a result of legislative obligations.
Communications Theory Approach
Centralisation in Canada’s central executive
Communications technology allow centralized messaging and coordinated action
Hybrid Interpretation
Institutionalized cabinet and prime minister centred cabinet
Trudeau Government
Trudeau Gov’t v. Harper Gov’t
Hyper-centralized, defunded PCO, did not allow ministers to speak freely - Harper
Cabinet gov’t (e.g., more committees), decentralized power, funded PCO, “results approach”, allows Ministers to speak independently - Trudeau
Collegial
relating to or involving shared responsibility, as among a group of colleagues.
