One third of the women named to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet aren’t full ministers and could earn less than their colleagues, iPolitics has learned.

According to orders in council adopted during Trudeau’s first cabinet meeting, five members of his cabinet are actually ministers of state, although the OIC calls for them to be called ministers: Kirsty Duncan (Science), Marie-Claude Bibeau (Francophonie), Patricia Hajdu (Status of Women), Carla Qualtrough (Sport and Persons with Disabilities) and Bardish Chagger (Small Business and Tourism).

Bibeau was also sworn in Wednesday as minister responsible for international development. The Liberals have yet to clarify whether that makes her a full minister as well and reduces the proportion of female ministers of state to one quarter of the women in cabinet.

None of the men in Trudeau’s cabinet are ministers of state.

While a cabinet minister earns $80,100 above and beyond the basic MPs salary of $167,400, the parliamentary pay scale calls for a minister of state to earn only $60,000 on top of their MPs salary. While they receive many of the other perks a cabinet minister receives such as a car and driver, they are not legally among those authorized to sign orders in council and usually have to answer to a more senior minister.

According to the orders in council, Duncan and Chagger are to assist “the Minister of Industry” – presumably Navdeep Bains who was sworn in Wednesday as Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. Bibeau is to assist Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion. Hajdu and Qualtrough will answer to Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly.

But while the orders in council state clearly that they are only ministers of state – not full ministers – nowhere is that mentioned on the prime minister’s website or in the package given out to reporters Wednesday. All are described simply as ministers.

Liberal Party officials say they don’t consider there is any difference between those who have been legally designated as ministers of state and their colleagues.

“We really do consider them full ministers and it has to do with technicalities around the bureaucracy and legalese and things like that but they are, in our minds, full ministers,” said one official who agreed to speak on background.

The official said he was told they would get the same compensation as other ministers but couldn’t explain how ministers of state could be paid the same as ministers when the statute that governs the pay of everyone from the prime minister to caucus chairs says they are supposed to earn $20,000 a year less.

“Like their colleagues, they are full members of Cabinet, will receive benefits commensurate with the benefits and supports to their other Cabinet colleagues, and will lead on a number of the government’s priorities,” according to the departmental response shared with iPolitics. “This approach to their appointment ensures they have access to departmental support, as new organizations are not being created.”

Trudeau made history Wednesday by making good on his promise to ensure that women made up half of his cabinet. Asked after the swearing in ceremony why it was so important to him to have gender equity in his cabinet, Trudeau was blunt.

“Because it’s 2015.”

Trudeau’s decision to make gender a factor in who sits around the cabinet table sparked debate as well as criticism from those who felt that merit should be the only determining factor.

However, it was praised Wednesday by groups like Equal Voice, which said the 50/50 balance was a powerful symbol of commitment to having an equal number of men and women in decision making roles.

“Equal Voice applauds our new federal cabinet,” National Chair Lynne Hamilton said in a statement. “We are very pleased to see 15 very qualified women taking leadership roles in our government and look forward to working with them.”

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