ministry

Do we need a minister of cities?

The Prime Minister raised the issue of MP pensions in his interview with the CBC earlier this week, but, as the Finance Minister has noted, it is beyond the official purview of the government. Today the Globe reports that support for the reforms will come from the Conservative caucus. Tony Clement meanwhile muses of leading by example.

Just how many people does Stephen Harper plan to appoint to cabinet?

The Liberals and NDP are both taking issue with the size of Mr. Harper’s cabinet and ministry (though previously two separate things, Mr. Harper doesn’t make any distinction). As noted below, it is once more one of the largest in this nation’s history—including the Prime Minister, the government House leader, the leader of the government in the Senate, 24 ministers and 11 ministers of state.

Unnoticed in Mr. Harper’s shuffling of cabinet earlier this month was this: by leaving the title of minister of state for status of women with Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose, the Prime Minister has opted to go with a more streamlined cabinet and ministry. Previously, when Helena Guergis held the title of minister of state for status of women, both the ministry and the cabinet numbered 38 (one short, in both cases, of the all-time highs). With Ms. Ambrose holding two titles, the cabinet and ministry number a more svelte 37, a decrease of 2.6%.