Evidence of meeting #30 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was employees.
A recording is available from Parliament.
3:55 p.m.
Maureen Munhall Director, Human Resources Services, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
I've been there since May 2005.
4 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
I was involved as chair and vice-chair of the government operations committee during the Radwanski time. Mr. Martin was also there. There was a serious culture problem within the department. Are there any remnants of taboo in terms of the privacy commission office right now, publicly, in terms of potential applicants for jobs?
4 p.m.
Director, Human Resources Services, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
We're still able to attract a good quantity of candidates. It hasn't seemed to have hindered our ability to attract. We do submit annual reports to central agencies, reporting on our management practices, and the feedback received from them has been quite favourable. In April 2006, following the removal of staffing delegation, we did receive it back, as we had indicated to the Public Service Commission that....
4 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
And finally, can you give just an indication of approximately how long it takes to fill a position?
4 p.m.
Director, Human Resources Services, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
It depends, but generally, if we're doing a full process where we're advertising it, it would be between three and six months, and that may or may not include the requirement for security clearance.
4 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Compared to the industry average outside the government, would that be high?
4 p.m.
Director, Human Resources Services, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Outside of the government, yes. Within the government, it's probably average.
4 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
I have Mr. Hubbard, Mr. Wallace, Mr. Van Kesteren.
Mr. Martin, were you in the second round?
4 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Okay.
Mr. Hubbard, Mr. Wallace, Mr. Van Kesteren, and we're at five-minute rounds.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Charles Hubbard Liberal Miramichi, NB
Thanks, Chair.
I'm really interested in this business of hiring. Who does the advertising?
4 p.m.
Director, Human Resources Services, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
The advertisements are done through a service provided through the Public Service Commission of Canada. We present our information to them and we post, we get clearance. If they're external to the public, then we use the service through the Public Service Commission. If they're within the government, for employees, we have an internal mechanism.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Charles Hubbard Liberal Miramichi, NB
Where would someone see the public ones? I've had people on the Hill looking for work, college graduates, and to the best of my understanding I've never seen an advertisement or posting yet for jobs with your group.
Are they posted on a website? How long do they stay on that website?
4 p.m.
Director, Human Resources Services, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
The website that is used is jobs.gc.ca. That's the common government site that is used to post externally. The length of posting can depend, based on the nature of the job, your anticipated applicants, etc.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Charles Hubbard Liberal Miramichi, NB
Are there any postings out at the present time? Are you looking for people this week?
4 p.m.
Director, Human Resources Services, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
I think we have one that's closing today for a clerical position.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Charles Hubbard Liberal Miramichi, NB
Is that open only to people in Ottawa, or is it open to people from across the country?
4 p.m.
Director, Human Resources Services, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
At the clerical level, it's within the national capital region right now. We've extended it to include some perimeter areas such as Kingston, Maniwaki, Pembroke. We've gone that circumference.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Charles Hubbard Liberal Miramichi, NB
With other jobs that you look to fill, do you have a restricted area? If you're from Quebec City or from Winnipeg, can you apply? Do you have geographic limitations on applications?
4 p.m.
Director, Human Resources Services, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
We have areas based on the level of the position, and that's standard throughout the Public Service Commission, a national area of selection. For officer-level positions, which a lot of ours are, they're posted at a national level.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Charles Hubbard Liberal Miramichi, NB
When you speak, though, of having difficulty getting people, are you talking about difficulty getting people within a geographic location or difficulty getting Canadians from everywhere to look for jobs with your commission?
4 p.m.
Director, Human Resources Services, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
We have difficulty sometimes attracting qualified people. We get a lot of applicants.
4 p.m.
Liberal
Charles Hubbard Liberal Miramichi, NB
But what I'm saying is that if you don't offer the opportunity, how do you know that somebody from Fredericton, New Brunswick, or Vancouver or Surrey, British Columbia, is not qualified? If you don't give them a chance to apply, how can you get successful applicants?
4 p.m.
Director, Human Resources Services, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
They have the chance to apply in that it's posted on the website that is hosted by the Public Service Commission and it's open all across Canada. So it's not restricted on geographical—
