Minister of Industry Assigned Science Duties

Summary#

This is the Transfer of Duties Order: SI/2019-123. It moves certain powers and duties under Part I of the Budget Implementation Act, 1997 from the Minister of Science to the Minister of Industry. The order was made as P.C. 2019-1361 on November 20, 2019 and published in the Canada Gazette on December 11, 2019.

What it does#

• Transfers the powers, duties and functions that were held by the Minister of Science under Part I of the Budget Implementation Act, 1997 to the Minister of Industry.
• Those specific powers had previously been moved to the Minister of Science by Order in Council P.C. 2018-1013 on July 18, 2018.
• The transfer is made under the Public Service Rearrangement and Transfer of Duties Act.

Who's affected#

• The main government actors affected are the Minister of Science and the Minister of Industry, and the federal staff who support those ministerial responsibilities.
• Organizations, businesses, researchers or other stakeholders who deal with programs or rules under Part I of the Budget Implementation Act, 1997 may notice a change in which minister or department they interact with.
• The Gazette notice does not list which specific programs or sections of Part I are being moved, so it is unclear exactly which external groups will be directly affected.

Why it matters#

• It changes who is officially responsible for certain parts of federal legislation. That affects who answers questions in Parliament and who oversees related programs and decisions.
• For people and organizations that work with those parts of the law, it may change which minister or department they contact for information or approvals.
• The notice appears to be an administrative reallocation of duties. The public impact depends on which specific programs (not named in the notice) are covered by the transferred powers.