CEO Council Applauds Overhaul of Federal Cabinet and Prime Minister Martin’s Democratic Reforms

December 12, 2003

The dramatic overhaul of the federal cabinet and reforms to the decision-making process introduced by new Prime Minister Paul Martin will strengthen Canada’s ability to deal with critical issues at home and abroad, says the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE).

“The measures announced by Prime Minister Martin today mark the most significant change in decades in the way decisions are made in Ottawa. Taken as a whole, they should have a profound effect in making Parliament work better, restoring public trust, leading to good public policy decisions and generating better value for the taxes Canadians pay,” said CCCE President and Chief Executive Thomas d’Aquino.

The CCCE, composed of the chief executive officers of 150 leading Canadian enterprises, has been actively engaged in public governance issues for more than two decades, publishing its first comprehensive plan for parliamentary reform in 1983. Mr. d’Aquino said Mr. Martin’s reforms should enable elected representatives of all parties to play a greater role in shaping legislation.

Mr. d’Aquino said he supports in particular changes to allow free votes by Members of Parliament on a broader range of bills, more power for parliamentary committees, including the ability to consider and make amendments to more bills at an early stage, and a stronger parliamentary role in the review of key government appointments, along with the appointment of a minister responsible for driving the reform agenda.

“New ministries, new cabinet committees and new agencies combined with a clear commitment to democratic reform pave the way for real progress in strengthening Canada’s role in the world, relations with the United States, public health and safety and financial accountability,” Mr. d’Aquino said.

The CCCE supports in particular four of the major policy thrusts signaled by today’s changes in the structure of cabinet and federal ministries:

• In global affairs, a new cabinet committee headed by the Prime Minister will spearhead a long-overdue and comprehensive review of Canada’s diplomacy, trade, development and defence policies;
• In Canada-United States relations, the work of another new cabinet committee headed by the Prime Minister will be supplemented at the political level by the appointment of a Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister for Canada-United States relations and the creation of the Canada Border Services Agency to build on the bilateral Smart Border Initiative;
• Progress on Canada-United States issues also will be supported by the new emphasis on Canadian public health and safety, including the new Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness headed by Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, the appointment of a National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister, establishment of a new Canada Public Health Agency, creation of a Cabinet Committee on Security, Public Health and Emergencies and proposal of a new National Security Standing Committee of the House of Commons; and
• To strengthen ethics and financial accountability, the work of an independent Ethics Commissioner and strengthened ethical standards for office holders will be combined with a stronger role for the Treasury Board in monitoring and reallocating spending, creation of a new cabinet committee on expenditure review, a requirement for departmental comptrollers to sign off on spending proposals before they go to cabinet, and creation of a new agency to manage human resources in the public service.

The CCCE also welcomed the appointment of Ralph Goodale as the new Minister of Finance and his immediate commitment to maintaining a strong emphasis on fiscal prudence, debt reduction, competitive taxation and a disciplined approach to the review and reallocation of federal spending.

The CCCE is Canada’s senior business organization and is devoted to strengthening the country’s economy and society through the development of sound public policy in Canada, North America and the world. Its member chief executives head companies that administer in excess of $2.3 trillion in assets, have annual revenues of more than $550 billion and account for a significant majority of Canada’s private sector investment, exports, training and research and development.

In addition to Mr. d’Aquino, the members of the CCCE’s Executive Committee are Chairman Richard L. George, President and Chief Executive Officer of Suncor Energy Inc.; Honorary Chairman A. Charles Baillie; and Vice-Chairmen Derek H. Burney, Dominic D’Alessandro, Paul Desmarais, Jr., David L. Emerson, Gwyn Morgan, Gordon Nixon and Paul M. Tellier, the chief executives respectively of CAE, Manulife Financial, Power Corporation of Canada, Canfor Corporation, EnCana Corporation, Royal Bank of Canada and Bombardier Inc.