Ministers of state to assist: weighing the costs and the benefits

Abstract: In 1970 the Ministries and Ministers of State Act established two kinds of ministers of state: the first presides over a Ministry of State, the second is specifically assigned to assist an existing minister or ministers in carrying out their statutory duties, This article examines some of the problems associated with the use of ministers of state to assist in the Canadian federal government. It lays out the models of government organization that have evolved with the adoption and increasing use of this type of minister. It then proceeds to set out some of the problems which can arise in the relations between the relatively junior ministers of state to assist, the senior minister, the departmental officials and the client groups. The present use made of many of these ministers of state is seen in the context of attempting to have one's cake and eat it too! That is, to have the necessary bargaining, accommodation and coordination take place within the bureaucracy while at the same time seeking to increase political control. In the face of mounting temptation to employ ministers of state to assist, it is posited that more thought be given to granting them greater authority over resources through legislation. This likely would entail modifications to the Ministers of State Act. In the absence of such measures, greater attention should be paid to the mandate, location and designated clientele of these ministers; in particular, the expectations that these relatively junior ministers can be employed as effective agents of interdepartmental policy coordination should be dispensed with. Finally, it is suggested that those officials working with the minister of state to assist ought to be given the greatest amount of autonomy possible from the hierarchy of the department in order to ensure adequate accountability to the junior minister.