Chapter 5 - The Executive Flashcards
4 Components of Executive
Formal Executive, Political Executive, Permanent Executive, Bureaucracy
Difference between Formal, Political, and Permanent Executives
Formal: Symbolic roles (Queen, the crown)
Political: Elected officials (PM+cabinet+, some ministers of state)
Permanent: Appointed senior bureaucrats who advise the political executive, oversee bureaucracy, and implement policy.
Types of Accountability and Processes that apply to Political Executive
- Confidence government
- Cabinet Solidarity
- Ministerial Responsibility
Major problems with Permanent Executive.
Very cynical view of them, believe they are inefficient. People also fear that they are not accountable to anyone except the ministers.
Privy Council
The body of prominent federal politicians and officials that typically advise the governor-general.
Cabinet
The leaders of the political executive, consisting of the sitting prime minster and ministers. Ministers of State and associate ministers may attend upon invitation.
PMO vs PCO
Prime Minister’s Office consists of the PM’s chief of staff, director of communications, press secretary, caucus adviser. It provides POLITICAL advice.
The Privy Council Office offers POLICY advice and is part of the permanent executive.
Presidentialization
The concentration of executive power in the office of the prime minister or premier, at the expense of broader cabinet authority.
First Minister Diplomacy
The characterization of Canadian premiers and prime ministers as the primary spokespersons of their government’s interests.
Ministers of the Crown
Occupy most of the positions within cabinet, which often also includes House and Senate leaders, and a host of so-called “junior ministers”.
Minister of State
A member of the legislative assigned by the first minister to provide support to Cabinet by exerting leadership over a particular policy area.
Parliamentary Secretary
A member of the legislature assigned by the first minister to assist a minister in the performance of ministerial duties.
Inner Cabinet
Members of the political executive that hold its most important portfolios, including finance, treasury board, and justice.
Cabinet Committee
A subgroup of cabinet members assigned to scrutinize a particular set of executive actions. (Different than legislative committees which are created by all parties. Cabinet committees meet and report to the cabinet in private).
Three Main Cabinet Committees
- Agenda and Results
- Parliamentary Affairs
- Treasury Board
Agenda and Results Committee
Chaired by the PM.
It meets to strategize long-term issues, to develop and maintain a consistent government narrative and message, and to review cabinet recommendations.
Parliamentary Affairs
Deals with short-term issues management, including the government’s legislative agenda.
Treasury Board
The nucleus of fiscal decisions particularly those dealing with the budget.
Clerk of the Privy Council
The highest-ranking public servant in a government’s bureaucracy.
Deputy Minister
Reporting to the minister, the highest ranking public servant in a given government department.
Central Agencies
Coordinating bodies that steer government business across all departments.
Central Agencies
Coordinating bodies that steer government business across all departments.
- PMO
- PCO
- Treasury Board Secretariat
- Department of Finance
Privy Council Office
The central agency responsible for coordinating the federal government’s overall implementation of policy.
It is the bureaucratic equivalent of the PMO. It is run by the federal clerk.
Treasury Board Secretariat
The central agency responsible for coordinating government spending, as well as human and technical resources.
They employ public servants to support the financial management work of the Treasury Board cabinet committee.
Department of Finance
The central agency responsible for setting and monitoring the government’s fiscal and economic policy, including overseeing the budget process.
Line Departments
Units responsible for the development and delivery of policy, programs, or services under a particular portfolio. (Do not have authority to direct operations of a department.)
ABC
An agency, board, or commission, responsible for delivering a program or service, or producing goods, at arm’s length from government.
Government Agency
An arm’s length corporate body operating on behalf of a government.
Government Board
A public advisory committee made up of appointed citizens.
Government Commission
An agency of government that provides specialized policy expertise and oversight.
Royal Commission
A special research investigation of a contentious area of public policy.
Democratic Deficit
A disconnect between people’s expectations of how democratic institutions should work and actual performance of those institutions.
