Treasury Board
Encyclopedia
The Treasury Board is the Government of Canada
's only statutory Cabinet committee
and is responsible for the federal civil service much of the operation of the Canadian government. Among its specific duties are negotiating labour agreements with the public service unions and serving as Comptroller General. It is headed by the President of the Treasury Board and assisted by the Treasury Board Secretariat
.
In early 2011, the Treasure Board suffered cyber attacks
from foreign hacker
s, along with two other federal government departments.
. Its role in government makes it far more powerful than most Cabinet committees as it is responsible for "accountability and ethics, financial, personnel and administrative management, comptroller
ship, approving regulations and most Orders-in-Council". It is also unique in that its committee chair, the President of the Treasury Board
, is a member of cabinet by virtue of holding that office—other cabinet committees are chaired by minister holding seats in cabinet by virtue of some other office. The Treasury Board is supported by the Treasury Board Secretariat
.
There are also three "alternate members", who attend Treasury Board meetings in the event of conflicts of interest; these are currently the following:
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
's only statutory Cabinet committee
Cabinet committee
The Cabinet committee is a set of Committees in the Canadian Federal Government that are responsible for enacting the operations of the Government's agenda.-List of cabinet committees:...
and is responsible for the federal civil service much of the operation of the Canadian government. Among its specific duties are negotiating labour agreements with the public service unions and serving as Comptroller General. It is headed by the President of the Treasury Board and assisted by the Treasury Board Secretariat
Treasury Board Secretariat
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is the administrative branch of the Treasury Board of Canada. The role of the secretariat is to support the Treasury Board as a committee of ministers, and to fulfill the statutory responsibilities of a central government agency...
.
In early 2011, the Treasure Board suffered cyber attacks
2011 Canadian government hackings
In February 2011, news sources revealed that the Government of Canada suffered cyber attacks by foreign hackers using IP addresses from China. The hackers managed to infiltrate three departments within the government and transmit classified information back to them...
from foreign hacker
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
s, along with two other federal government departments.
Role
The Canadian Cabinet is arranged into several committees with varying responsibilities, but all other ones are informal structures and frequently change. The Treasury Board is the only one created by law (currently organised under the Financial Administration Act), and is officially a committee of the Privy CouncilQueen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
. Its role in government makes it far more powerful than most Cabinet committees as it is responsible for "accountability and ethics, financial, personnel and administrative management, comptroller
Comptroller
A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...
ship, approving regulations and most Orders-in-Council". It is also unique in that its committee chair, the President of the Treasury Board
President of the Treasury Board (Canada)
The position of President of the Treasury Board was created as a ministerial position in the Canadian Cabinet in 1966 when the Treasury Board became a full-fledged department. From 1867 to 1966 the Treasury Board had been part of the Department of Finance....
, is a member of cabinet by virtue of holding that office—other cabinet committees are chaired by minister holding seats in cabinet by virtue of some other office. The Treasury Board is supported by the Treasury Board Secretariat
Treasury Board Secretariat
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is the administrative branch of the Treasury Board of Canada. The role of the secretariat is to support the Treasury Board as a committee of ministers, and to fulfill the statutory responsibilities of a central government agency...
.
Membership
The committee is composed of six cabinet ministers, always including its President and the Minister of Finance. The current members are as follows:- Chair: Tony ClementTony ClementTony Peter Clement, PC, MP is a Canadian federal politician, President of the Treasury Board, Minister for the Federal Economic Initiative for Northern Ontario and member of the Conservative Party of Canada....
, President of the Treasury Board - Vice-Chair: Rona AmbroseRona AmbroseRonalee "Rona" Ambrose, PC, MP is the Minister of Public Works and Government Services for Canada, Vice-Chair of the Treasury Board Cabinet committee, Minister of State for Status of Women Canada and Minister of Western Economic Diversification.In the previous Parliament, she was Canada's Minister...
, Minister of Public Works and Government ServicesMinister of Public Works and Government Services (Canada)The Minister of Public Works and Government Services is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's "common service organization" , an expansive department responsible for the internal servicing and administration of the federal...
and Minister of State (Status of Women) - Jim FlahertyJim FlahertyJames Michael "Jim" Flaherty, PC, MP is Canada's Minister of Finance and he has also served as Ontario's Minister of Finance. From 1995 until 2005, he was the Member of Provincial Parliament for Whitby—Ajax, and a member of the Progressive Conservative Party caucus...
, Minister of Finance - Julian FantinoJulian FantinoJulian Fantino is a retired police official and the elected Member of the Parliament of Canada for the riding of Vaughan following a November 29, 2010 by-election...
, Associate Minister of National Defence - Bernard ValcourtBernard ValcourtBernard Valcourt, PC is a Canadian politician and lawyer.-Entrance to politics:Valcourt was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the 1984 election that brought Brian Mulroney to power. He was appointed to the Canadian Cabinet in 1986 as a...
, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency ActMinister for the purposes of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency ActThe Minister for the purposes of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Act, more commonly the Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency or Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency , is the member of the Cabinet of Canada who also serves as the chief executive of the...
) (La Francophonie) - Maxime BernierMaxime BernierMaxime Bernier, PC, MP is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper....
Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism)
There are also three "alternate members", who attend Treasury Board meetings in the event of conflicts of interest; these are currently the following:
- Bev OdaBev OdaThe Hon. Beverley Joan "Bev" Oda, PC, MP is a Canadian politician. She is a current member of the Canadian House of Commons, as well as the first Japanese-Canadian MP and cabinet minister in Canadian history. She represents the riding of Durham for the Conservative Party of Canada. She was...
, Minister of International Cooperation - Diane AblonczyDiane AblonczyDiane Ablonczy, PC, MP is a Canadian Member of Parliament, representing the riding of Calgary--Nose Hill in the Canadian House of Commons as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. She is the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and was appointed on January 4, 2011. She was previously...
, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas and Consular Affairs) - Lynne YelichLynne YelichLynne Yelich , PC, MP is a third-generation Croatian-Canadian politician and the MP for the riding of Blackstrap. The riding of Blackstrap includes Yelich's home town of Kenaston, Saskatchewan, identified as the largest Croatian farming settlement in Canada...
, Minister of State (Western Economic DiversificationMinister of Western Economic Diversification (Canada)The Minister of Western Economic Diversification is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who also serves as the chief executive of Western Economic Diversification Canada...
) - Steven FletcherSteven FletcherSteven John Fletcher, PC, MP is a Canadian politician. He has served in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004, representing the riding of Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia as a member of the Conservative Party. He is the first quadriplegic to serve in the House of Commons, as well as in Cabinet...
, Minister of State (Minister of TransportMinister of Transport (Canada)The Minister of Transport is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's transportation regulatory and development department, Transport Canada...
) - Ted MenziesTed MenziesTed Menzies, PC, MP is a Canadian politician. He currently represents the electoral district of Macleod in the Canadian House of Commons and serves as Minister of State for Finance.- In opposition :...
, Minister of State (Finance)
See also
- Security clearances
- Info SourceInfo SourceInfo Source is a Canadian government agency repository of information about or collected by the government of Canada. The purpose of Info Source is to help Canadians to access information available through the Privacy Act and the Access to Information Act...
- Common Look and FeelCommon Look and FeelThe Government of Canada’s Common Look and Feel standard is defined by the Chief Information Officer Branch of the Treasury Board Secretariat and evaluated through the "Effectiveness of Information Technology Management" element of the Management Accountability Framework The Government of...
Related legislation
- Access to Information ActAccess to Information ActAccess to Information Act or Information Act is a Canadian act providing the right of access to information under the control of a government institution...
- Auditor General ActAuditor General ActThe Auditor General Act is an Act of Parliament respecting the office of the Auditor General of Canada and sustainable development monitoring and reporting.-External links:*...
- Official Languages ActOfficial Languages ActOfficial Language Act or Official Languages Act may refer to:* the Official Languages Act passed in Canada to enshrine official bilingualism* the Official Language Act passed in Quebec to ensure that French retained its primary status...
- Privacy ActPrivacy ActPrivacy Act may refer to:*Privacy Act of 1974 of the United States*Privacy Act *Privacy Act 1988 Australia*Privacy Act 1993 Amended: 1993/94/96/97/98/2000/02/03/05/06/07, An Act of the New Zealand Parliament...
- Security of Information ActSecurity of Information ActIn Canada, the Security of Information Act is part of the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act which received Royal Assent on December 18, 2001 and came into effect on December 24, 2001. This Act renamed and replaced Official Secrets Act 1981...