This is an officer of Parliament position. Throughout my career, I learned what it means to be an officer of Parliament: it is someone who acts on behalf of Parliament. That person has to be completely independent because of the nature of the duties. Legal training helps us to understand what it means to be independent and the need to be impartial. I think the time I spent in the 8 or 10 different places I have worked in over the course of 30 years gives me a good idea of the operations, the way of thinking and the culture of the public service. Nonetheless, I cannot speak to the rest of the public sector, because I have never worked outside the public service.
I know how the different levels of management operate, act and see things. I have quite a bit of experience with that. I started as a student and then I had an LA-01 position, a position for lawyers just starting out and I worked my way up to deputy minister, or DM-02. I have seen how DGs and ADMs approach things at different times and in different departments. When we are talking about reprisals, it is helpful to recognize certain behaviours. I have seen a lot in my experience. Sometimes there are subtle ways of taking retaliatory measures. I have seen it all before, which allows me to recognize and understand the modus operandi of someone who has decided to do something wrong.
This also allows me to understand financial controls. I was responsible for human and financial resources at the Department of Justice. Understanding public financial management and human resource management is important when it comes to dealing with wrongdoing. I spent several years doing that.
I have benefited from my knowledge while being very careful to maintain real independence, real objectivity and the appearance of objectivity. I was twice appointed acting commissioner for six months each time. There were three occasions when I indicated that I could not handle a particular file out of concern for the appearance of partiality based on the fact that I knew the “accused”. I made it clear from the outset that I would not be touching the file, that I had no opinion and that the deputy commissioner would deal with it. That will be my approach in the future as well.
Obviously I know people. The circle of friends is more limited than you might think, even as a senior public servant. The circle is getting smaller with people leaving on retirement. My contemporaries are starting to retire.