Running head: ASSIGNMENT 5- DEPUTY MINISTER CASE STUDY !

Assignment #5- Deputy Minister Case Study

Aishwarya Shokeen- 213526215

PPAS 3190- S3 B

Professor Thomas Klassen

June 5, 2017
DEPUTY MINISTER CASE STUDY !2

Deputy Minister Case Study- Assignment #5

PART A:

As the Deputy Minister, accepting the request from Skills First agency to obtain $7

million in allowing the purchase of the building and land is the best option. Since, the

governing party only has a few months left of its authorities, it will be beneficial to help out the

agency to better the chances to win in the upcoming election. The funding issue can be best

tackled through adding the $7 million to the Supplementary Estimates however, even though this

may lead to scrutinization in the public or the minister or ministry may be accused of

favouritism, this will also give us publicity. From this we can gain support from immigrants and

unemployed individuals, which will give us the strength to give a tough fight back.

On a more detailed note, the budget outlines the governments overall policies and

priorities hence, aiding the Skills First Agency will send a positive message out. If we choose to

add the $7 million to the Supplementary Estimates then that will go to the Legislature for

approval in early March. Since, the fiscal year begins in April 1, the Parliament will not vote on

the main estimates until June, which is known as the Interim Supply. These funds have to be

further approved no later than March 26. In order to, cover the needs of the government the main

estimates have to be approved by April 1. When the main estimates are tabled in the House of

Commons they are referred to various standing Committees who must report back to the House

on their review of the Estimates. However, to provide for ongoing operations while the main

Estimates are under review, the Treasury Board Secretariat prepares an Interim Supply Bill

known as the Appropriation Act No.1. This bill displays amounts of monies departments and
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agencies need to conduct their business over a 3 month period. Once a bill has been tabled in

Parliament and been granted by the Royal it then becomes an Appropriation Act. At the end of

the 3 months, the Treasury Board Secretariat prepares a full Supply Bill, which displays the

remaining monies to be released. The Supplementary estimates demands a change in the

governments requirements as it sets out the Main Estimates and requires the parliament to

approve the estimates during the course of the fiscal year. Even though this option has chances to

put us on scrutiny by the opposition parties and media it will help us gain votes and support from

minorities, which will show that we care about the things that really matter.

As Canada is known to be supportive of new immigrants and unemployed individuals,

helping out this agency will put us on the front line, which will give us an upper hand in the

upcoming elections. The media has the power to either make someone a hero or a villain and by

doing this good deed it is a possibility that the media will understand and the opposition parties

will need to come up with more strategies in order to, go neck to neck with us. Since, the Skills

First Agency has an excellent record and it is beneficial for the long term this will be a great

move for us, overall.

PART B:

Given the circumstances it is best to not approve the request by the Skills First

Agency to guarantee them a loan of $7 million for purchasing its building. Even though, this

will be beneficial in the short term as the ministry will not have to give any money however, in

the long run the ministry will need to provide funds to make the mortgage payments. Co-signing

the loan with a commercial bank for $7 million will only make things complicated and

challenging for future investments. Since, the elections are around the corner, money will be
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used in that and if enough funds are not collected then the ministry will be at fault. As well as,

mortgage may possibly be affected due to the elections. This will negatively impact us as we will

not be able to collect enough fund to provide to the Skills First Agency. Even though, helping

them out will aid in gaining more votes and support from the individuals working for the Skills

First Agency yet, going through with this plan may cost us more than we had planned. Thus, it is

more beneficial to focus more on running a good campaign and putting all that money there

rather than guaranteeing loans for an agency that will not benefit us in the long run.