Improving Parliament

Canada could sure use a minister of defence with General Rick Hillier's expertise. But under our current system of governance, Stephen Harper must pick his defence minister from the ranks of elected MPs even if none of them is qualified for the position.

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An American president, on the other hand, has the freedom to pick his cabinet from wherever he chooses, though his choices must be vetted by the U.S. Senate. We could improve the calibre of future cabinet members by allowing the prime minister to pick at least half of them from outside his political party. William Bedford