Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
An issue of integrity of the staffing function within the public service was recently put under the microscope at a partner set of federal agencies, ACOA and ECBC. This situation dates back to as early as 2010, and potentially even earlier. Certain staffing decisions came up seriously wanting and short—clearly short of the integrity function of the public service. This determination was not made by me, but by the Public Service Commission and the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner working independently of each other.
What makes the situation particularly troublesome is that the situation was not a single isolated event, by the evidence, but a serial one, and one with clear political overtones. In 2011, ACOA P.E.I. was investigated by the Public Service Commission. In the longest investigation ever conducted by the Public Service Commission, it was found that a regional director general and a director general for ACOA P.E.I., Kevin MacAdam and Shawn Masterson, were hired through failings in the hiring process.
The Public Service Commission issued reports that called for the revoking of their appointments. As a result, reprimands were issued to Pat Dorsey and Kent Estabrooks, and I understand that even the president of ACOA lost his ability to hire for three years. Kevin MacAdam and Kent Estabrooks and Pat Dorsey filed judicial reviews of the situation and lost.
More recently—and this is where the serial component comes in—the VP of the Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation, John Lynn, was part of the hiring of Nancy Baker, Ken Langley, Rob MacLean, and Allan Murphy.
Mr. Wouters, Nancy Baker and Ken Langley have since retired or are now in joint political staff within the current government, but Rob MacLean and Allan Murphy are rolled into the public service. They maintain their roles within ECBC because they were investigated by the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner not by the Public Service Commission, because the Public Service Commission had no power over ECBC, as a crown corporation. They're still there and they're about to become part of the public service because ECBC is about to be dismantled and rolled into ACOA.
Do you have any thoughts as to how the hiring process related to two public servants, who would otherwise be dismissed or their appointments revoked? Should Rob MacLean and Allan Murphy now be rolled into the public service?