Restoring accountability : Linkages, responsibilities and accountabilities

The Papers “The Role of the Clerk of the Privy Council,” by S. L. Sutherland, explains that the Clerk of the Privy Council, as the most senior non-political official in the Canadian federal government, facilitates the collective form of government through the flow of papers and information to and from the Cabinet. [...] Hence, the doctrine of the separation of powers finds its own special application within the Canadian context: it is in the role of the courts vis-à-vis the legislature and the executive rather than in the relation between the executive (understood to include the Cabinet) and the legislature (which includes ministers). [...] The Clerk’s seniority arises from the importance of his or her duty to facilitate collective government through the flow of papers and information to and from Cabinet, and to serve as the interpreter and guardian of the integrity of the law and conventions of the Constitution in relation to the clerkship. [...] To cite Peter Aykroyd’s summary:“[T]he administrative head of the Privy Council office, the principal officer of the Cabinet Secretariat, the principal servant of the Governor in Council and the principal government adviser to the Prime Minister are all wrapped up in one function, the Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet.”5 2 Terms of Reference The issues set for this study incl [...] Replacement of an initially wide range of prerogative powers by statute has reduced them to the conduct of foreign affairs, including the settling of treaties and the declaring of war, the appointment of the Prime Minister and other ministers, the issuing of passports, and the conferring of honours.12 The BNA Act provides that the members of the Privy Council will be both chosen by and summoned to