Government of canada machinery and decision making

processes
The primary responsibility of the Privy Council Office PCO is to provide public service support to the Prime Minister, to ministers within the Prime
Minister's portfolio and to the Cabinet in order to facilitate the smooth and effective operation of the Government of Canada. Finally, under the
present government, three additional agent-of-Parliament positions have been created: The combined output of all of these models and analyses is
blended with judgment to produce a base-case or most likely scenario, which is presented at this first meeting with the Governing Council. These
variations are due to uneven demand by deputy ministers and they are tolerated because there is little demand by PCO for evidence respecting its
submissions, so long as the cabinet process expectations are met and little demand from TBS for performance or effectiveness evidence in the
Estimates process. What this suggests is that anyone wanting a clear mandate in the day-to-day work environment ought not to aim to become a
deputy minister. The Current Situation in Perspective. Canadian Government Documents 2. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat www. Return
to footnote 1 referrer Footnote 2 David E. In practice, Expenditure Review has operated without the rigour of Program Review, in part because,
in the first major round in , ministers were not required to make the deep program cuts that might force the issue of priorities to address the
question of program effectiveness. Decision-makers need assurance that the evidence presented by program evaluations is credible. Canada has a
unique set of central agencies that play an important role in the operation of government. Tactical and communications issues associated with
various policy options are then reviewed, based on a note prepared by the Financial Markets Department. The Department of Finance, in
supporting its minister, maintains a broad socio-economic analytical capacity. Priorities Access Government of Canada priorities. PPBS and then
PEMS in turn gave way to changes in the process of government decision-making as governments struggle to simultaneously accommodate the
three main demands on government: As a consequence, deputy ministers tend to focus primarily on implementation of minister's agenda, where
consultations and engagement of stakeholders is deemed by most to be more critical in defining success than performance measurement or
program evaluation, and on the implementation of government-wide management priorities, as set by the Clerk in deputy minister performance
agreements on corporate priorities. Performance management and program evaluation, for the purposes of review and reallocation, were
essentially devolved to the portfolio level. This year is the th anniversary of the first parliamentary ombudsman, whose job was to make sure that
the public administration was acting fairly and honestly, and to report its findings to Parliament. A third approach is found in the United States
where over the past decade an initiative has been in progress to develop performance management and budgeting [13]. But if programs are not
effective in achieving results, it matters for nothing that they may be affordable, economical or efficiently managed. Commitment to the use of
evidence is not always what it needs to be, at the levels of ministers or senior officials or both; competence in understanding the need for and yet
limitations of effectiveness evidence is missing in some cases; and, the processes for using evidence can be or become deficient in not embedding
the use of evidence in the decision-making process. Victorian Department of the Premier and Cabinet. Roles and Structure of the Privy Council
Office. The Australian experience is relevant for a number of reasons, including the extent to which Australian governments have adapted Canadian
developments to their own circumstances. Federal, Provincial and Territorial Practices , The MAF is a set of management expectations for deputy
heads, with associated indicators and measures of performance. Support to Cabinet The PCO acts as the secretariat for Cabinet as a whole and
the committees of Cabinet except Treasury Board, which has a separate secretariat that is discussed below. This includes foreign affairs, defence,
national security, and intergovernmental affairs. The department assists the minister in:. The Department of Finance has considerable authority and
earns its place as a central agency within the federal government through its role in developing the budget. Jeffrey Graham Bell, Agents of
Parliament: Banks and federally chartered trust and loan companies are required to transfer to the Bank of Canada all unclaimed bank balances
maintained in Canada in Canadian currency that have been inactive for a period of 10 years. In short, they need to be assured that the program
evaluations they use are of the highest quality. Generally, the PMO assists the prime minister by:. It was therefore a governmental decision,
advocated by the Minister of Justice. In Victoria government structure is set by an Order in Council made under section 10 of the Public
Administration Act In order to try to manage this large and diverse set of organizations, the federal government has four central agencies: When this
happens, program evaluators invariably adjust what they do to focus on being helpful to program managers. Each member of the House of
Commons represents one of Canada's constituencies, or ridings. These two agencies, through the Privy Council Office, provide the Prime Minister
and Cabinet committees with advice on policy, related funding issues and the economic impact of proposals before Cabinet. Otherwise money well
managed is still money poorly spent. My office also conducted a survey to gauge the satisfaction level of complainants and of the institutions under
investigation. Library of Parliament Research Publications. The department also reviews proposals that may be recommended for funding and
announced outside of the budget. Guy Peters and Donald J. As you may know, the ombudsman was an official, created by the King of Sweden in
the 18th century, who was given the responsibility of seeing to it that the administration was living up to its responsibilities while the king was off
leading his army into battle in Europe. The one failure was the cultural component of the opening ceremonies, which made me realize that failure is
obvious and success is invisible. The Canadian Record The Canadian record in policy and expenditure management over the past decade is a very
good one in at least two of three respects. Archived from the original on 7 March

Decision-Making in Government: The Role of Program Evaluation

It thereby substitutes for a policy-expenditure plan. The process has been dominated by the twin pillars of the priorities of the government, as
enunciated primarily by the prime minister, and the fiscal policies of the Finance portfolio. To do so, they need to be independent of program
managers. This reality has reduced the demand that program evaluation be undertaken in ways that generates evidence that can contribute to
 expenditure review and re-allocation. Policies explain what deputy heads and their officials are expected to achieve. Discussion Paper March 29,
Peter Aucoin 1. Most federal laws, including all bills that involve raising revenue or spending money, are introduced in the House of Commons. In
the spring of , an NDP private members' bill, C, would have required Supreme Court judges to be sufficiently bilingual so that they can understand
pleadings before the court without simultaneous interpretation. Placing responsibility for program evaluation at the departmental level means that
deputy ministers decide on the importance of the function in departmental decision-making. The British experience is quite different. To this point,
in other words, expenditure review has not focused primarily on programs, let alone program effectiveness. Retrieved 25 September The Present
Pattern The decision-making system since the demise of PEMS has diminished the ambition of an integrated policy and expenditure decision-
making system that gives pride of place to evidence based on evaluation of government programs and performance. The Commissioner at the time
was so frustrated by the government's slowness in dealing with Charter requirements that he threatened to resign. PPBS and then PEMS in turn
gave way to changes in the process of government decision-making as governments struggle to simultaneously accommodate the three main
demands on government: It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was
archived. The biggest machinery of government changes in Queensland's history were in December under the Labor Government headed by
Wayne Goss. In order to try to manage this large and diverse set of organizations, the federal government has four central agencies: The link of
program evaluation to results-based management is clearly stated in the policy. Lyon, Randolph Matthew, "The U. Stage 2 The Major Briefing
While Stage 1 involves mainly the Canadian Economic Analysis and International Economic Analysis departments, the major briefing, which occurs
approximately one and a half weeks later, draws importantly on all four economics departments. As a consequence, the importance attached to the
use of evidence in decision-making invariably waxes and wanes over time. Jeffrey Graham Bell, Agents of Parliament: Program evaluation for
effectiveness, in other words, was meant to address major policy and expenditure management questions. The PCO often filters or summarizes
information provided by departments to ensure that the prime minister and Cabinet have adequate supporting information to make informed
decisions. In the spring of , just as the Court was about to render judgment, an out-of-court settlement was reached between the government and
the FCFA: This authority is usually delegated to deputy heads under accountability agreements. However, as these staff members are not elected,
there is some debate about whether these individuals wield too much influence and what their appropriate relationship with the public service
should be. Using its analysis, as well as private sector analyses, the department prepares a forecast of the growth rate of the economy. The annual
Government priorities process is managed primarily by the Prime Minister's Office and the Privy Council Office, as the principal advisers to the
prime minister. While the Department of Finance does not have the same coordinating role as other central agencies, it is a central actor in virtually
all policy decisions, because the allocation of funds from the fiscal framework is almost always required to proceed with a policy initiative. I made
my support for the bill very public, responding to editorials and columns in The Globe and Mail , the National Post and the Winnipeg Free Press.
Line departments must go through the Department of Finance in order to be given room within the fiscal framework to launch new spending
initiatives or to increase funding to ongoing programs. National Archives of Australia. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy
Policy. Line departments must consider the advice of the PCO very carefully because the advice generally reflects the wishes of the prime minister
or Cabinet. Before December , the Bank had no fixed or pre-announced schedule for its interest rate decisions. These policies ensure that there is
a government-wide approach to managing selected administrative issues. Archived from the original on 5 November The question now is whether
the system can build on Expenditure Review to develop this third component of a good policy and expenditure management system. It makes
"achievingresults" the "primary responsibility of public service managers. Expenditure Management The Treasury Board oversees expenditure
management within the federal government. Introduction The Treasury Board is a committee of Cabinet composed of the president of the Treasury
Board and four other ministers appointed by the prime minister. In sum, the Treasury Board is the employer, expenditure authority and general
manager of the public service. In the Northern Territory, according to KPMG, the Administrator of the Northern Territory determines government
structural arrangements, acting on the advice of the government of the day. This is not without controversy. Link to the Public Service C. This page
was last edited on 29 September , at The processes also require attention to evidence on program effectiveness, lest government allocate
resources to programs that do not constitute or cannot be shown to constitute public value for money.

Machinery of government - Wikipedia

Political responsiveness to changing priorities and fiscal discipline respecting total government expenditures are necessary but not sufficient to
secure the greater possible degree of cost-effectiveness in budgeting. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. What is government of canada
machinery and decision making processes instructive from the American experience is the recognition that program evaluation is the best way
to ascertain and assess program effectiveness in securing desired impacts, results and outcomes. The Canadian federal government is composed of
over departments, agencies, Crown corporations, commissions and other organizations. This is largely a technical exercise and does not involve a
detailed review of program performance. The Canadian structure exhibits a comparatively high degree of concentration at the centre because of
the relative low level of checks and balances on the executive and political powers of a Canadian prime minister compared to other Westminster
systems of government or, for that matter, to other parliamentary systems [2]. Second, these experiences, taken together, illustrate that the use of
evidence on effectiveness and performance in government decision-making is a necessary condition of good governance and public management.
Otherwise money well managed is still money poorly spent. PublicationsGovernment of canada machinery and decision making processes of
Canada Review Article. Victorian Department of the Premier and Cabinet. Digital Currencies and Fintech Understanding digital currencies and
related financial technologies is an important part of our research agenda. Management Policies and Performance 2. That is rarely good enough for
achieving value for money. Institute for Research on Public Policy, Governments should be responsive to government of canada machinery and
decision making processes and their priorities, including especially those of the major stakeholders of the various programs government provides.
The goal of this paper is to explain the key roles and responsibilities of each central agency and to discuss issues facing each of them. Roles and
Responsibilities The roles and responsibilities of the Treasury Board and its Secretariat can be grouped into three broad areas, which will be
discussed in turn: It builds on one of the most rigorous permanence measurement regimes. Directives explain how deputy heads and their officials
 must meet the policy objectives. Almost ten years later, inthe Auditor General expressed major concern that: In Queenslandthe Premier has sole
responsibility for determining ministerial portfolios. Staff then work on these scenarios in preparation for Stage 2, the major briefing. Archived from
the original on 9 April The PCO has three main roles, each of which will be discussed in turn:.