The Cabinet, or Executive Council, consists of ministers
chosen by the Premier to develop policy, new laws, and spending proposals.
The cabinet is "the government" in the parliamentary system, and each
cabinet minister usually heads a government department; for example, the
Minister of Health and Wellness, and so on.
No law says that ministers must be elected MLAs.
However, in the parliamentary system, tradition can be as powerful as law, and
it is a longstanding tradition that the Premier picks cabinet ministers from
among the MLAs in his or her party and decides what their areas of
responsibility, or portfolios, should be.
Privacy of cabinet meetings is another age-old
tradition. It enables ministers to discuss policies freely with one
another and advise the Premier with absolute frankness. In fact, the term
"cabinet" stems from the type of meeting place preferred by the first
cabinets in British Parliamentary history: small rooms that lent themselves to
secret discussions.
Also customary in the parliamentary system is cabinet
solidarity. Once cabinet has made a policy decision, ministers are
expected either to support it or resign. Cabinet ministers are also
expected to accept collective responsibility for government activities and
personal responsibility for their departments.
Learn
more about the Executive Council here!
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