Reading Questions - Donald Savoie (2)

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Dec 6, 2023

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Reading Questions Who is Donald Savoie, and why does he seem to be important to the study of politics and government in Canada? Donald Savoie is a Canadian political scientist and is a well-known scholar who has focused a lot of his work on public policy and public administration. He is the author of this article and many other literature pieces. He has had great influence on studies involving the governance of Canada. According to Savoie, how has power shifted over time within the Canadian parliamentary system – from where/whom and to where/whom – and why does he think that this is a problem? According to Donald Savoie the power in the Canadian parliament has shifted overtime. The power has shifted from being concentrated in the cabinet but now to the prime minister having this more independent, and concentrated power. For Savoie, what is “Court Government” and how is it related to Parliamentary Government, Cabinet Government (collective responsibility) and Responsible Government? Savoie states that the court government has taken root in Canada. Meaning that the prime minister's office has gained a lot of power. Which can lead to not formally being made and the elected officials may have not as much of an influence and transparency which can be a problem for democracy. For Savoie, what are the roles of cabinet and cabinet ministers under Court Government? Under court governments the roles of cabinet and cabinet ministers has been less of a decision making role so less input when it comes to changing policy and they now have an overall smaller role and influence in the parliament. What are “the central forces,” changes to “the machinery of government,” and actors that Savoie thinks have bolstered or even augmented Court Government, and how have they done so? [there are about a half dozen of them that he reviews] From what I understand, the central forces, changes of government and actors are the PMO and the PCO and also mass media. Mass media has a major impact on the machinery of government, when an issue has “blown” up and gotten popular attention on the media it then will be chosen as an issue for the prime minister to deal with and resolve. Mass media has

direct control over the important issues the government focuses on to look at. And even political leaders are very aware of the presence they have in the media. In the Canadian system, what are the powers associated with the position of prime minister that Savoie identifies, and what are the sources of such power? The prime minister has a lot of power as they have control over the agenda of what they prioritise. They also have full power over who can and cannot be in the cabinet and even can remove members of the cabinet. Also, the prime minister being the leader of the party has power over the messages and communications they want to display. What forces does Savoie suggest can still “inhibit prime ministerial power” and how do they do so? Although the prime minister has a lot of power, there are many forces that will ensure that the prime minister is kept in a position where they will be accountable for their actions and ensure the prime minister is not abusing their power. Public opinions and media have a big impact on the PM. If a PM makes a decision that the general public disagrees with, the media can put a spotlight on this and allow a space to criticise the PM. Another force would be the Senate having checks and balances against decisions and if a party is not satisfied with the PM they can challenge this. If you could speak with Savoie right now, what question(s) about his text would you want to ask him? If I could speak to Savoie, I would ask what he believes would be the best system to govern Canada. I also would love to hear what he thinks Canada would look like if the Prime Minister had full power without any of these forces ensuring power cannot be fully abused. I would be curious if he thinks Canada could ever have a government with a dictatorship. Building from Savoie, what do you see as some advantages and disadvantages of Court Government for the quality of politics within the Canadian Regime? Building from Savoie, I do see the advantage of efficiency if we had less of a process when issues are being presented and dealt with. Still, I also believe that it is important for a Prime Minister to be kept accountable because, without this, we could see them abuse their power without any consequences. Another thing I see as an advantage is there would be a strong leader, when there are major issues or a crisis, it is great to have one strong central leader.

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