I’m in Chicago covering the Conrad Black trial but, as it’s Independence Day here in the U.S., the jury is not sitting and I have time to go through the masses of documents I’ve acquired over the last several weeks through various Access to Information requests.
Today, going through some of the briefing books handed out to Stephen Harper’s cabinet when they were sworn in — some of these briefing books have only recently been released under Access to Information though the requests for them were made the day they were sworn in — I found a letter the Prime Minister wrote to all his ministers about accountability. You can read the three-page memo for yourself, but here, it seems to me, is the key message:
Canadians have entrusted our government with ensuring that the institutions and individuals by whom they are governed are fully accountable for the policies they adopt and the actions they take. This means that we must uphold the highest standards of probity and ethical conduct. But it also entails a transformation
in the culture of government to reflect the evolving expectations of Canadians. If Canadians are to have confidence in their political institutions and representatives, and be truly engaged in the nation's political life, government must recognize that accountability is not a concession it makes or a set of technical
rules to be complied with, but rather the very essence of its role as an instrument by which Canadians govern themselves.
Harper would have authored this letter shortly after winning the election in late January, 2006. Back then, he had this idea about his cabinet:
A further goal of our government, one that will also strengthen transparency and accountability to Parliament, is to streamline and simplify the executive, beginning with the Ministry. We will have a smaller Cabinet, In which all members are equal. All members of the Ministry will be members of Cabinet and have
full ministerial status. Parliamentary Secretaries will focus on their parliamentary responsibilities and will not be members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada.
Of course, he would change his mind about that within the year, elevating the likes of Jason Kenney and Helena Guergis to the Ministry as Secretaries of State but not making them full Cabinet members.
And, finally, here is Harper’s instructions to his Cabinet about how they should interact with Parliament:
Ministers are accountable to Parliament for the use of all powers vested in them. This demands constant attention to their parlfamentary duties, including being present in Parliament to answer honestly and accurately about their areas of responslbillty, and taking corrective action, as appropriate and within their authority, to address any problems that may arise within their portfolios. Should Ministers make any inadvertent error in answering to Parliament, they must take steps to correct it at the earliest opportunity.
I suspect Harper’s political opponents might have some thoughts about effective different ministers have been in meeting the expectations of their boss when it comes to answering “honestly and accurately about their areas of responsibility.”