I just want to clear up the problem with the confusion. I was a senior public servant. I have drafted memoranda to cabinet as an official dealing with programs. They were departmental decisions. They are the responsibility of the department and cover everything up to deputy minister level. In order to remove any ambiguity, some departments use “memorandum to the deputy minister” and “memorandum to the minister” in order to show that there really are two levels. When you talk about a “departmental decision”, you really are talking about a decision made by the officials.
On March 25th, 2011. See this statement in context.