Prime Minister Justin Trudeau just created a new cabinet for his minority government. His new cabinet will have a substantial number of members with its 36 ministers. Since the turn of this century, PMs have significantly increased cabinet sizes, as evidenced by former Prime Minister Harper who had 38 ministers in 2011. This number was far from the 20-odd ministers of previous federal governments in the past. Once again, Trudeau has created a whole new contingent of weird cabinet positions such as ministers for Middle Class Prosperity; Families, Children and Social Development; Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development; and Digital Government. Fortunately, PMs are no longer creating Ministry of States as was done by previous governments which often caused more confusion and bureaucracy.
The creation of new portfolios not only satisfies the need to accommodate new and aspiring Members of Parliament, but also appears to reinforce the policy direction of a ruling party’s election campaigns and political slogans. Let’s take the new position of Minister for Middle Class Prosperity. The difficulty is how one defines the so-called ‘middle class’ and what one means by prosperity. Based on most studies and current statistics, all researchers can conclude is that the middle class is declining in numbers, especially with many higher paying blue-collar jobs disappearing and the introduction of new technologies.
There already exists a Minister of National Revenue who can consider changes to income taxes to help out targeted groupings of tax payers. The Minister of Finance can look at economic policies aimed at benefiting everyone, including the middle class. The Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion can develop employment programs to help out those who require retraining or mobility assistance. Departments already exist to help implement the policies developed by these ministers. So what does a Minister for Middle Class Prosperity do exactly?
Years ago, the Canadian government undertook to consolidate several departments to reduce the size of the bureaucracy. The attempt was somewhat successful at the time, but governments have since reverted back to more political manoeuvrings. You now need a game program to know who’s who in the federal cabinet and what their titles are. One thing that I admire about the American federal cabinet is that it tends to remain fairly constant in its make-up with 15 cabinet members, although those appointed to cabinet are not elected as is the case in Canada. Never-the-less, one knows what the responsibility of each cabinet member is and the department or agency for which he or she is responsible. Unlike with the more unwieldy Canadian federal cabinet where one is often guessing as to what matters certain members are responsible for.
FROLITICKS 