IRCC Minister Transition Binder 2025-05

Memoranda to Cabinet and Treasury Board Submissions

Cabinet Affairs Unit
Strategic and Horizontal Policy Branch
May 2025

Overview

Cabinet is the body of ministerial advisors that sets the federal government’s policies and priorities for the country.
Cabinet committees carry out the day-to-day work of the Cabinet.
- Cabinet committees are made up of federal ministers, and each committee has its own areas of responsibility, all which is set by the Prime Minister.
- Unlike parliamentary committee work and reports, which are shared publicly, the work of Cabinet committees is specific to internal government business, and is subject to strict Cabinet confidence (i.e., cannot be discussed publicly).
The Privy Council Office (PCO) works with the Prime Minister’s Office to set and circulate the Cabinet agenda and coordinate committee dates; PCO works with departments’ Cabinet Affairs teams to determine dates for Cabinet items, based on government priorities.
Memoranda to Cabinet (MCs) are brought to a Cabinet committee for initial discussion. If approved-in-principle at committee, the MC then proceeds to Full Cabinet for ratification. Final Cabinet decisions are documented by PCO via a Record of Decision that may be shared upon request.
Any items requiring funding are “ad referendum” to the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, subject to Budget or off-cycle requests.

An MC is a decision-making tool used by a minister to propose new initiatives or policies for Cabinet approval. An MC provides context, options, including pros & cons, risks, mandatory assessments (such as Gender Based Analysis Plus), and any associated costs.
MCs are required when the government needs to, inter alia:
- advance a new policy or initiative or seek substantive changes to an existing program or policy;
- submit legislative proposals to Parliament; or
- implement a Budget Item or PM priority.
Slim MCs have fewer annexes and streamlined requirements, and can be used for yes/no decisions (i.e., where there is no optionality), responding to Private Members’ Business (in the form of a Government Position), or responding to a Parliamentary report (in the form of a Government Response).

*Note: Government cannot request Cabinet Confidences of a previous government.

A Government Position (GP) is required to present the government’s proposed position on a bill or motion put forward by a Member of Parliament or Senator.
- A GP is needed before a bill/motion is moved for debate at second reading in the House of Commons and should be ratified before the government votes on the bill/motion.
- Once approved by the Minister, the GP is considered by the Cabinet Committee on Operations.
A Government Response (GR) is required to respond to recommendations put forward by a House of Commons or Senate committee.
- A GR outlines the government’s position on each recommendation along with a brief rationale and is not used to announce new policy direction or seek funding.
- The GR is annexed to an MC, which, once approved by the Minister, is considered by the Cabinet Committee on Operations. Once ratified, only the GR is published (via parliamentary tabling).
Dates for GPs and GRs are set according to parliamentary deadlines (i.e., the government does not directly control timing).

Prior to beginning drafting: The Minister is briefed on and/or provides direction to pursue an MC.
Advance circulation: The Minister reviews and comments on an advance draft of the MC, and works with his/her team to provide language on specific sections of the parliamentary annex.
Final approvals: The Minister reviews the final version of the MC and presentation deck and returns them to the Department so that they can be submitted to PCO nine business days before the Cabinet date.

A Treasury Board Submission (TB Sub) is the mechanism used to seek approvals and authorities from Treasury Board ministers, including approval to include funding in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) Reference Levels via the Estimates process.
TB Subs are initiated by IRCC business lines needing authorities, e.g., funding, business plans, project authorities or remission orders, etc.
The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) sets Treasury Board meeting dates around which IRCC plans and prioritizes its submissions for delivery. Target dates for TB Subs are often critical to align with the Estimate process (Supplementary Estimates A, B or C) or the need for authority in a given situation.
A TB Sub may include authorities being sought by multiple departments, where there is a common theme or initiative that impacts other government departments (OGD). IRCC will either “lead” the submission or “co-sign” along with other departments.

The standard critical path for TB Submissions is 28 weeks, but IRCC is often adapting to shorter timeframes.
At the drafting stage, including engagement with and input from OGDs, there is a review process undertaken with TBS which involves about three substantive review rounds and will conclude with TBS’ endorsement and approval to proceed to signature (also referred to as greenlight).
Unlike MCs, where the responsible minister presents to a Cabinet Committee, TB Subs are presented by TBS’ Assistant Secretary – ADM level. TBS engagement with the Department continues until the TB meeting, as the Assistant Secretary prepares to brief ministers via a précis—a short and annotated version of the submission.
When a submission is presented to the Board, ministers can approve, not approve, or approve with notes or conditions, such as imposing a reporting requirement or freezing funding.
Conditions or notes are communicated via a Decision Letter to the responsible Minister.

The MR is a key component of the MC that sets out the following:

the issue to be discussed;
the Minister’s course of action, proposed recommendations and alternative options;
any funding requirements;
the rationale for proceeding;
other considerations including legal risks, horizontal policy impacts, mandatory assessments, province and territory and regional considerations, international and security perspectives, etc.,
10-page limit

There are four standard annexes to the MR:

Communications and Engagement
Parliamentary Strategy
Findings of Mandatory Assessments
- Gender Based Analysis Plus
- Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessments
- Assessment of Modern Treatment Implications
- Official Languages
Summary of Authorities Sought