If it ain’t broken, stop trying to fix it: Why the doctrine of ministerial accountability still works By Scott D. Millar, B.A., B.A.H. A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Political Science Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario Canada © Scott D. Millar 2005 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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ABSTRACT A number of critics suggest that the doctrine of ministerial accountability is broken when it is not. This has led to repeated and ill-conceived calls for scrapping the doctrine altogether in favour of a system that requires ministers to be accountable to Parliament for policy matters related to their departmental portfolios and for public servants to be separately accountable for administration. Citing the HRDC grants and contributions affair as an example, this paper suggests that despite modem realities the doctrine is still relevant for ensuring the accountability of government. The doctrine needs only to be better understood and consistently applied in order to remain effective. It demands that ministers, supported by their officials, be solely responsible for correcting administrative errors that occur within their departments, and that they provide related information to Parliament and Canadians. The doctrine solves problems of administration and sets in place processes to prevent future errors. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1: FOUNDATIONS OF MINISTERIAL ACCOUNTABILITY............... 10 Historical Foundations .................................................................................................. 10 The Origins o f Responsible Government.................................................................. 10 The Rise o f the Public Service.................................................................................. 15 Theoretical Foundations ................................................................................................ 18 Responsible Government.......................................................................................... 18 Ministerial Responsibility......................................................................................... 18 a) Collective Ministerial Responsibility...........................................................19 b) Individual Ministerial Responsibility.......................................................... 21 c) Permanent and Anonymous Public Service................................................. 24 Summary.......................................................................................................................28 CHAPTER 2: UNDERSTANDING MINISTERIAL ACCOUNTABILITY................ 29 Meaning of Accountability...........................................................................................29 How is a Minister Accountable?................................................................................... 33 Sanctioning o f Ministers...........................................................................................34 Answerability o f Ministers........................................................................................37 Summary....................................................................................................................... 39 CHAPTER 3: CANADIAN SYSTEM OF MINISTERIAL ACCOUNTABILITY...... 43 Key Accountability Actors...........................................................................................43 Ministers...................................................................................................................43 Deputy Ministers.......................................................................................................48 Key Accountability Support Mechanisms....................................................................55 Parliament................................................................................................................. 55 Question Period........................................................................................................ 57 Public Accounts Committee and the Auditor General.............................................. 58 Role o f the Media...................................................................................................... 61 CHAPTER 4: SOME CHALLENGES TO ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY............64 Complexity of Government.......................................................................................... 64 Performance Measurement ...........................................................................................68 Auditor General Activities ............................................................................................71 The Media ..................................................................................................................... 74 Role of Parliament ........................................................................................................ 75 Parliamentary Committees............................................................................................ 78 Public Accounts Committee .........................................................................................82 CHAPTER 5: SPLITTING ACCOUNTABILITIES BETWEEN MINISTERS AND DEPUTY MINISTERS.................................................................................................... 85 Past Efforts to Make Public Servants Directly Accountable to Parliament.................. 86 Reasons Posed for Splitting Accountabilities ...............................................................93 Addressing the Realities o f a Complex Government.................................................93 Addressing the Realities o f the Minister-Deputy Minister Relationship.................. 96 Protecting Public Servants.......................................................................................97 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. 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Why Accountabilities should not be Split.................................................................... 98 Is the British ‘Accounting Officer’ Model Applicable? ..............................................104 Ministerial Instruction: An Option for Reform ............................................................110 Summary......................................................................................................................115 CHAPTER 6: THE HRDC GRANTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS AFFAIR: A CASE FOR MINISTERIAL A CCOUNTBILITY.....................................................................117 The Affair.....................................................................................................................117 The Role of a Minister Who Stood Accountable .........................................................123 Summary......................................................................................................................126 CONCLUSION A WAY FORWARD FOR MINISTERIAL ACCOUNTABILITY.... 132 Reforming Supporting Mechanisms ............................................................................132 The Need to Maintain the