The concepts of “responsibility” and “accountability” are fundamental to understanding Canada’s system of “responsible government.” This post explains these concepts and shows what they look like in practice.
Ministerial responsibility is a defining feature of the Westminster system
Ministers are assigned individual responsibility through statute (e.g. the National Defence Act, the Department of Health Act, etc.) or by the prime minister (e.g. usually, through a letter). Responsibility implies the authority to take necessary action. As public servants supporting a minister in exercising his or her responsibilities, we need to be aware of what those responsibilities are exactly—at least with respect to our area of work.
Accountability implies that there will be an assessment of how responsibilities have been fulfilled
When we are assigned responsibilities, it is normally clear who will be assessing how well we have done our job. While we are responsible for things, we are accountable to a person (or group of people). Ministers are accountable to Parliament; that is, they must be able to provide answers to Parliament regarding how they have acted in their area of responsibility. Mechanisms for doing so are Question Period and Order Paper Questions (questions submitted in writing by a Member of Parliament).
Ministers are also accountable to the prime minister, as the person who appoints them and who may also reassign responsibilities.
Cabinet is also collectively responsible for the actions of the government
Cabinet is collectively accountable to Parliament (which through its votes, will indicate its assessment of the government). Of course, in an election, citizens also vote to reflect, at least to some degree, their assessment of the government’s past actions.
The people to whom a minister is accountable influence his or her frame of reference
Public servants provide advice to ministers and implement decisions. That advice needs to be framed in terms of what is of concern to ministers—namely, how to effectively fulfill their responsibilities, how Parliament, the prime minister or citizens will view their actions, as well as the means by which they will be held to account. A good briefing note for a minister will be written with awareness of that context.