QUESTION PERIOD — Prime Minister’s Office
Secretaries of State
June 11, 2025
Senator Gold, when Prime Minister Carney named his cabinet, he touted it as smaller and more efficient. He named 28 ministers, and they all have departments, extra pay, cars and drivers. In addition, he named 10 secretaries of state. They all get extra pay too. However, recently, you couldn’t tell me how much more they make, what they actually do or whether they have departments and cars and drivers, but the wheels on the gravy train just keep spinning. Now this Liberal prime minister has named one third of his backbench MPs as parliamentary secretaries, with extra pay of over $20,000 each to boot. Even secretaries of state have parliamentary secretaries. Prime Minister Carney has officially become the Oprah Winfrey of prime ministers: You get a car, and you get a car. How much is this Liberal prime minister’s giveaway fever costing Canadian taxpayers?
That’s a pretty good line, Senator Batters. I can always count on you to hold the government’s feet to the fire. The parliamentary secretaries do an important job on behalf of the ministers they support. In many cases, they stand in for the ministers when they may be otherwise engaged, and they are an important part of making any government and cabinet work in the best interests of Canadians. I do not have the dollar figure that you have requested, but I can assure you that this government is organized to deliver an effective and efficient government to Canadians and will continue to work to that end.
Senator Gold, Saskatchewan is the only province without a full cabinet minister. We have one lone secretary of state, and he does not sit at the cabinet table. So when the current Liberal government does not properly brief you to answer those questions, it is not fair to you, and it is not fair to the people of Saskatchewan who want answers. What are those secretaries of state? Do they have their own departments and budgets? What are their salaries? Do they get cars and drivers? Senator Gold, the time is ticking. We want answers now.
Thank you. I will certainly ask those questions. I am not in a position to answer them now, but I imagine that those answers will be made public in due course. In the meantime, in the time that remains, I will certainly make inquiries.
Colleagues, I have heard three phones ring during the first hour and 10 minutes. I wish to remind you to please check your phones and ensure that they are silenced.
Thank you very much. I hope that you can respect that.
