CANADA 



1115 



CANADA 



reelection remains a member of the council 

 and is technically one of the Governor-Gen- 

 eral's advisers, but he is hardly ever called 

 upon for his opinion. Councillors are some- 

 times chosen as "ministers without portfolios" 

 in order to place them in the Cabinet, without 

 requiring them to assume executive duties. 



The members of the Cabinet hold office only 

 as long as they are supported by a majority in 

 the House of Commons. They are responsible 

 directly to the House, which is the direct repre- 

 sentative of the people. This system is called 

 responsible government. Most of the Cabinet 

 members sit in the House of Commons, but 

 three or four are usually Senators. All minis- 

 ters must be members of Parliament, and the 

 government, therefore, is in the hands of what 

 is really a committee, made up of members of 

 the two Houses of Parliament. The number 

 of ministers usually varies from sixteen to 

 twenty, although there is no fixed number. 

 Ministers in charge of departments receive a 

 salary of $7,000 a year in addition to their 

 sessional allowance of $2,500 as members of 

 Parliament. The permanent head of a depart- 

 ment is the deputy-minister, who holds office 

 under the civil service regulations (see CIVIL 

 SERVICE IN CANADA). The duties of the various 

 ministers are summarized below: 



1. The President of the Council presides over 

 the meetings of the Ministry. He has no execu- 

 tive duties, except such as relate to the work of 

 the council as a whole. This office is usually, 

 though not necessarily, held by the Premier (see 

 subhead, below). 



2. The Minister of Justice and Attorney- 

 General of the Dominion is the legal adviser of 

 all the government departments. The adminis- 

 tration of justice, including the control of the 

 Royal Northwest Mounted Police and of prisons, 

 is in his hands. He also reviews all the laws 

 passed by the provincial legislatures. 



3. The Minister of Finance has charge of the 

 Dominion finances. He presents the annual 

 budget to Parliament, explains the government's 

 financial policy as regards the raising and ex- 

 penditure of revenue, and is responsible for the 

 collection and distribution of funds. See BUDGET. 



4. The Minister of Trade and Commerce exe- 

 cutes all laws relating to commerce, industry 

 and allied subjects which are not definitely 

 assigned to some other department. He is also 

 in charge of the census and statistics branch, 

 which was formerly a part of the Department 

 of Agriculture. 



6. The Minister of Agriculture, besides the 

 division of industry which gives him his title, 

 has charge of public health, copyrights, trade- 

 marks and patents. 



6. The Minister of Marine and Fisheries has 

 supervision of the ocean and inland fisheries, 

 of the lighthouse and life-saving service, of the 

 examination of ships' captains and mates, har- 



bors, piers and docks and practically the entire 

 field of fisheries and navigation. The Minister 

 of Marine and Fisheries also acts as Minister 

 of Naval Service. 



7. The Minister of Militia and Defense is re- 

 sponsible for the administration of all military 

 affairs, including the military college at Kings- 

 ton, Ontario. He acts as president of the mili- 

 tia council, which is composed of the Minister, 

 the Deputy Minister, the Chief of the General 

 Staff, and three other officers of the army ; this 

 council advises the Minister of Militia. 



8. The Minister of the Interior is in charge 

 of the government of the Northwest Territories, 

 the Indians, public lands, forestry branch and 

 the geological survey. 



9. The Minister of Railways and Canals is 

 responsible for the management of the Inter- 

 colonial Railway, owned by the Dominion gov- 

 ernment, and for a general supervision of the 

 government canals. He also has some duties in 

 connection with general problems of transpor- 

 tation. 



10. The Minister of Public Works has charge 

 of the construction and maintenance of all pub- 

 lic works and buildings, except railways and 

 canals. 



11. The Postmaster-General controls the man- 

 agement of the Postoffice Department. 



12. The Minister of Customs manages the 

 collection of customs duties. 



13. The Minister of Inland Revenue has 

 charge of weights and measures and of all ex- 

 cise and other internal taxes. 



14. The Minister of Labor acts as arbitra- 

 tor in labor troubles, and under specified condi- 

 tions may intervene to end strikes. He may 

 also investigate labor conditions generally and 

 issue reports on them. 



15. The Minister of Mines investigates the 

 mineral resources and conditions of the mining 

 industry and issues reports of his findings. He 

 has comparatively few duties and usually holds 

 another position in the Ministry. 



16. The Secretary of State registers all doc- 

 uments under the great seal of the Dominion, 

 has charge of public printing and of all official 

 correspondence between the Dominion and pro- 

 vincial governments. 



17. The Secretary of State for External 

 Affairs has charge of relations with the British 

 and foreign governments. This office is usually 

 held by the Premier. 



Premier. The Premier is literally first mem- 

 ber of the Ministry. He is chosen by the 

 Governor-General to form a Ministry, although 

 the formal power of appointing ministers is 

 vested in the Governor-General. Legally no 

 such person as Premier exists, but the name is 

 given to the head of the Ministry; usually he 

 acts as president of the Privy Council. The 

 Premier is the head of the Cabinet, or Ministry, 

 he is the leader of the party in power, and he 

 is, under a system of responsible government 

 such as that in Great Britain and Canada, the 

 head of the legislative branch of the govern- 

 ment. He is also, in practice, the executive 



