Yes, sir, there is a process, and it's been in place since December 2004. In order to recruit the largest possible number of candidates, there are obvious things you can do. You can publicize, advertise in newspapers or in the official Canada Gazette. Some people actually do read it, apparently. You can have a standing offer of employment on the website. There are a variety of ways you can attract people.
The process, as it exists now, has gone through at least three cycles—two and a half, in fact. The initial step is to file an application. There is only one door to have your candidacy considered for a position. Then there is a committee that does pre-selection. The names of members are publicized on the website. They will basically verify two of the basic criteria, and that is experience and education.
Then there's a written exam. The candidates are provided with an extract of the law and a modernization publication, and the answers are there to the written exam. The exam also looks at the capacity of the individual to write and their reasoning, so there is a competency check.
If the exam is successful, there is the interview committee, which basically verifies the skills and abilities of the individual. This job has a lot of skills and abilities. When people show up, they must feel confident that the individual can communicate properly and will manage the case and the evidence correctly and rigorously. The individual needs the ability to communicate, to decide, and to write the decision. That's what the interview committee does.
Once this whole process is through, the name of the individual is placed on a list of qualified candidates. The board then provides the minister with its operational requirements. The decision to appoint someone is at the discretion of the minister.
