Collective Ministerial Responsibility

Canadian Parliament Responsible Government Collective Ministerial Responsibility

Collective ministerial responsibility, based almost entirely on constitutional convention, involves three principles the confidence rule, cabinet solidarity, and cabinet confidentiality. These principles help ensure that the prime minister and all cabinet ministers pursue a policy consistent with the priorities of their party, which won the support of the majority of the voters.

The prime minister forms the Cabinet by appointing members of Parliament as ministers to direct federal government departments. As the government, the prime minister and cabinet ministers propose laws and budgets that become the basis for public policy. The prime minister and Cabinet have both the power to make laws and to implement them. Since authority and power are concentrated in the government, the Canadian system seeks to hold it continuously accountable through the confidence rule.

The confidence rule requires the prime minister and the Cabinet to maintain the confidence, or support, of the House of Commons. It gives Parliament a tool to keep the prime minister and the Cabinet accountable to all voters. The House of Commons can withdraw its support by voting down a significant government proposal or by approving a specific motion of “no confidence” in the government.

There are occasions during each parliamentary session when each opposition party is allowed to introduce motions of “no confidence” in the government. MPs (the abbreviation for member of Parliament that identifies members of Commons) can present such a motion in response to the Speech from the Throne, which outlines the government's legislative program. Members of Commons can also present a motion in response to the Budget Speech, which reviews the government's economic record, taxation, and expenditure plans, and to Supply Motions, which concern budgets for individual departments. If a majority of MPs support a no-confidence motion, the government must resign.

Also, if Parliament rejects a significant government proposal, the government is expected to resign and request the governor-general to call an election. Such a situation occurred in 1979: Prime Minister Joe Clark resigned when Parliament voted down a gasoline tax increase proposed by his government. However, there is uncertainty and controversy about which defeats on proposed laws and items of spending oblige governments to resign. The consensus among political authorities appears to be that governments are free to decide whether a defeat is serious enough to compel the government to resign. Most often governments have not resigned. When the government party holds a majority of seats in Commons and party discipline prevails, government proposals are rarely defeated.

The second convention regarding collective ministerial responsibility is cabinet solidarity, which ensures that the government presents a unified stance when facing the opposition in Parliament. Cabinet ministers can disagree in the privacy of the Cabinet, but once a decision is made, they must loyally support and defend the government's position or resign. Individual cabinet ministers must not announce new policy or changes in policy without the Cabinet's approval. They must carry out cabinet-approved policies with respect to their own departments, whether or not they agree with such policies. Finally, they are expected to vote with the government always. The prime minister enforces cabinet solidarity. He or she can ask ministers to resign or can ask the governor-general remove them if they refuse.

The third convention relating to collective ministerial responsibility is cabinet confidentiality. Ministers swear an oath to protect cabinet secrecy. Documents used to support cabinet decision-making are highly confidential, and any public servant who discloses cabinet secrets can be imprisoned. Canadian law protects Parliament's and the public's right to know about the processes that lead to many decisions by the federal and provincial governments, but it does not apply to materials submitted to the Cabinet. Cabinet secrecy is defended as necessary to promote the frank exchange of opinions among ministers and to preserve the confidentiality of advice. (1)

More about the Canadian Parliament

• Canadian Parliament
• Parliament Powers
• Parliament Constitutional Conventions
• Responsible Government
• Collective Ministerial Responsibility
• Individual Ministerial Responsibility
• Debates About Ministerial Responsibility
• Parliament Membership
• Parliament Structure
• House of Commons
• Senate
• Governor-General
• Parliamentary Sessions
• Legislative Process
• Influences on the Legislative Process
• History of Parliament
• Parliament (in General in Canada)
• Parliament (in the World)

Resources

Notes and References

1. Encarta Online Encyclopedia

See Also

Law is our Passion

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This entry was last updated: March 23, 2014