Minority Report: What do parliamentary secretaries actually do?

Sunday, November 07, 2021

Another round of promotions on the way

With cabinet considerations all sorted, the next stage of promotions in the new government is for a less known role: parliamentary secretary. Senior Writer Ryan Maloney explains the pros and cons of the odd job.

Parliament is set to reconvene Nov. 22, with opposition parties criticizing the government for a long lag between the election and the start of sittings. But is the delay really that long, in historical terms? Digital writer Christian Paas-Lang answers that question.

Trudeau is about to name some parliamentary secretaries. So what do they do, exactly?

Ryan Maloney, Senior Writer

It's a job that can be seen as both a promotion and consolation prize — a reward for loyal members of Parliament and rising stars on the government benches and a way to soothe the sting of being left out of cabinet.

To be a parliamentary secretary is to exist in a unique, little-understood niche in Parliament — the middle benches, where the occupants are neither ministers nor backbenchers.

With Parliament returning Nov. 22, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will soon name a fresh crop of parliamentary secretaries to support 38 ministers. Each will earn $18,100 on top of the annual MP salary.

But the pay bump may not be the real incentive. Many see the job as an audition for a future cabinet spot.

Since 2015, Trudeau has appointed 17 ministers who served first as parliamentary secretaries — including five of the eight new ministers named last month.

So what does a parliamentary secretary do?

'Overworked and under-recognized'

According to a government guide, parliamentary secretaries can speak on behalf of their ministers in question period and during debates on private member's business. They are not supposed to be absent from question period when their ministers aren't in attendance.

They're expected to help shepherd a minister's bill through Parliament by liaising with MPs, fielding questions and defending proposed changes.

Outside the chamber, parliamentary secretaries can stand in for a minister at public events.

They waive the right to bring in their own private member's bills or motions "as this could give the appearance of endorsement by the government or the minister," the guide states.

They are also not permitted to chair Commons committees or be a voting member of a committee on a topic that falls within their minister's sphere of responsibility.

Cristine de Clercy, a political science professor at Western University, said that parliamentary secretaries are "often overworked and under-recognized."

She said parliamentary secretaries are "quite valuable" to the political process because they help ministers manage their workloads and help bureaucrats who may have "trouble accessing the minister's attention."

Kevin Lamoureux responds to a question in the House of Commons on Feb. 2, 2018. (Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press)

The role is important to prime ministers as well, de Clercy said. It serves as a tool of party discipline — "the carrot part of the carrot and stick equation" — and allows a PM to build a talent pool for future cabinet appointments, she said.

"It's a way that they can train and vet future ministers," de Clercy said, adding that parliamentary secretaries are typically chosen "with some care" to ensure diversity.

Some parliamentary secretaries are given specific policy files of their own — and the power to pursue them.

Before he became a cabinet minister in 2018, former Toronto police chief Bill Blair was considered the point man on the government's efforts to legalize marijuana, serving as parliamentary secretary to both the minister of justice and and the minister of health.

Learning on the job

Omar Alghabra handled the consular affairs file for almost three years as parliamentary secretary to the foreign affairs minister. He was promoted to cabinet in January as the transport minister and was reappointed to that job last month.

"I firmly believe that parliamentary secretaries play a vital role in our parliamentary system and are instrumental in moving forward not only the government of Canada's agenda but also in fulfilling the mandates within their department while serving Canadians," Alghabra told CBC News.

Alghabra said his time backing up the foreign affairs minister, the international trade minister and Trudeau himself gave him "an appreciation for the inner workings of government and the greater impact it has on our country."

Over on the Official Opposition benches, six of the nine former ministers from the Stephen Harper era who are still serving — including Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole — had earlier stints as parliamentary secretaries.

Conservative MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay, who represents the British Columbia riding of South Surrey—White Rock, was parliamentary secretary to the justice minister for 22 months before she was named to cabinet in 2013.

She said that Commons question periods on Fridays often feature a lot of parliamentary secretaries because fewer ministers are in the chamber. That made her weekend commutes a lot more taxing — she would fly home Friday evenings only to head back to Ottawa Sunday mornings.

"There's very little to prepare you for the unique workplace that is Parliament other than just doing it and being in the thick of it," she said. "So as a parliamentary secretary … you're getting that on-the-job training, if you will, to think on your feet."

Findlay said parliamentary secretaries are often called on to make media appearances and mix it up in scrums with other parties' critics.

"You are expected to be up to speed on all legislation in your ministry," she said.

Conservative MP Colin Carrie rises in the House of Commons on May 6, 2016. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Not all parliamentary secretaries make it to the big table.

Kevin Lamoureux, the Liberal MP for Winnipeg North, has been parliamentary secretary to the government House leader since 2015, backing up three different ministers.

He told CBC News he "hopes and prays" he will be reappointed to the role. Unlike ministerial appointments, parliamentary secretary appointments expire when an election is called.

Lamoureux said that as far as he's concerned, being a parliamentary secretary is a "dream job" and "better than being a minister."

"I couldn't think of anything ... well, maybe minister of immigration or something of that nature ... But it'd be really tough for me to find something that's more rewarding," he said.

'It's what you make of it'

Lamoureux said he enjoys his almost unlimited opportunities to speak in the House and verbally joust with opposition MPs.

"Opposition doesn't only hold the government accountable," he said. "Part of my job is to hold the opposition accountable, and I enjoy doing that."

The hardest aspect of the job, he said, are the long hours spent away from home. When Parliament is in session, he's expected to log a lot of hours in the chamber.

"I truly believe that whatever role that you're given, whether you're in government or in opposition, can be the best job in the House of Commons," Lamoureux said. "It's what you make of it."

Parliamentary secretaries are kind of a "forgotten lot" and their work is too often "underappreciated," said longtime Conservative MP Colin Carrie.

From 2006 to 2015, the MP for the Ontario riding of Oshawa served as the parliamentary secretary to Conservative ministers of industry, health and the environment.

Much of the job is "grunt work," Carrie said.

"You've got the committee work. You have to be ready for question period if the minister can't be there. You're doing speeches. You're doing events. You're doing ceremonies and all kinds of stakeholder meetings," he said.

Carrie never got the call to cabinet. He said he never minded — that the chance to negotiate with MPs of all stripes to pass legislation helped him make friends across all party lines.

"Sometimes you don't get the limelight but you know that you really made a difference in people's lives," he said.

Is the wait for Parliament’s return really so long?

Christian Paas-Lang, Digital writer

The federal Liberals have faced some criticism from members of opposition parties for choosing to wait until Nov. 22 to bring back Parliament following the end of the federal election campaign in September.

“It's wrong that in the middle of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Justin Trudeau is waiting 63 days to return to work," Conservative House leader Gérard Deltell said in October.

NDP MP Peter Julian called the delay “indefensible” in a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and then-government House leader Pablo Rodriguez in mid-October. He argued that just four weeks of sittings would give the House little time to pass emergency pandemic aid legislation.

But in historical terms, those waiting anxiously for the return of the House of Commons and Senate have not had to wait that long.

Before we get to the numbers, it’s worth noting a couple of caveats. The first is the important fact that Canada — and the world — still remains mired in the COVID-19 pandemic, with all the urgency that creates in terms of the need for government response.

When comparing the time between election day and the return of Parliament, there’s also a good deal of chance, not just politics, involved in any given year. The end of an election might correspond with a traditional summer or winter break, for example, somewhat delaying the return to work.

That being said, the 63 days between the federal election in September and Parliament’s return on Nov. 22 is a bit longer than the average delay in this century, but it’s lower than the average in the post-war period or since Confederation.

Hill-watchers have had to wait an average of 55 days following federal elections since 2000, with the longest delay coming in 2004, when Paul Martin waited 98 days after a late June election to bring Parliament back in October.

It’s after 2006 that governments became particularly swift at returning to legislating, with the longest wait in the past 15 years (not including this year) clocking in at a mere 45 days in both 2015 and 2019.

When you look even further back, the average delay expands significantly, to 72 days in the post-war period and a languorous 79 days since 1867.

Delays tended to be generally longer in this country’s earlier periods, but those averages are also pulled up by a few major outliers, including the long 140-day wait before the swift fall of Joe Clark’s minority government in 1979-80 — and a stunning 233-day delay between the 1882 election and the start of the fifth Parliament in 1883.

The return to Parliament comes after a period in which the House sat much less frequently than usual and in the midst of health and economic turmoil. But while the situation is unique, the two-month delay is not.