Evidence of meeting #17 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was board.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
The questions to the members are to be relevant, as I said at the beginning, to their qualifications and competence to perform the duties of the post.
Maybe it's on the edges, but I'll permit it here.
Liberal
Conservative
Liberal
Jim Karygiannis Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Cannex issued a notice on March 7, 2008, stating that you were leaving and you had two new individuals, Ms. Brodyansky and Mr. Damitz. It's great for Cannex to put that on their website, but there's also that conflict there about your still being listed as an immigration specialist. There has to be a time over, and you said four weeks. We're past that four weeks.
You were part of a disciplinary action of CSIC. Somewhere there you must start questioning yourself: Did I overstep the bounds? Was that information on my website supposed to come down? Why has CSIC not done this?
All the immigration work before Cannex is supposed to be handled by you, and you have two new people who supposedly are taking over.
Member, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
I'd like to see the page that you're referring to on the website right now, because it shouldn't be that way. If it is, that should be corrected. It was a week or more ago that we did that.
Nonetheless, as I said, I'm addressing all the issues of disconnecting myself from the business. I've had calls in to the Ethics Commissioner and people at the IRB. As well, I've taken some counsel on what steps to be going through, and I'm proceeding on those.
Liberal
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
No, I'm going to move on.
But I do have a question. Have you assumed responsibility yet?
Member, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
No, my appointment starts on May 1.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
Your appointment doesn't start until May 1.
I'm going to move on to Mr. St-Cyr.
Bloc
Thierry St-Cyr Bloc Jeanne-Le Ber, QC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I carefully read your CVs. I had asked that they be submitted to us before you appeared before us. I recently went to visit an organization in my riding that helps people who are applying for jobs. There was a brief guide to preparing a CV, in which it was explained that you should try to do it as succinctly as possible, while highlighting each of the elements that could help you get a job. I was staggered by a sentence that I found in Ms. Setton-Lemar's CV.
Roughly halfway down your career profile, you write: “In spite of the highly politically charged atmosphere created by the Quebec Referendum of 1994, I returned to write my Quebec Bar exams in September of that year.”
I frankly don't see the connection between the two parts of that sentence, and I'd like you to explain to committee members how your political analysis of the situation at the time of the 1994 referendum qualifies you more for this position.
Member, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
First, I'm going to summarize your question. If I understand correctly, you're asking me why or how my analysis of the political situation in 1994 has an effect on my position now. Is that correct?
Member, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Oh, all right. Why did I put it in my CV? That was in response to a part on independent thinking or the ability to think for oneself. Another part said you had to work with persons of other nationalities.
Bloc
Thierry St-Cyr Bloc Jeanne-Le Ber, QC
The Chairman took care to emphasize at the outset that all these positions are eminently non-partisan. I find it hard to understand why you insisted on stating your political opinion on the national question in your CV. It's as though, in applying for a job as a public servant, I emphasized that the Conservative government had caused economic problems.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
I'm going to interrupt, because I think we're getting into an area to do with political allegiance that we shouldn't get into.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
I think I've made it very clear from Marleau and Montpetit that we can't get into those areas. Among the areas usually considered to be outside the scope of the committee's study are political questions, political affiliations of the appointee or nominee.
Bloc
Thierry St-Cyr Bloc Jeanne-Le Ber, QC
Absolutely, Mr. Chairman, and that was essentially my point. I wanted to know why, in view of an appointment in which there should not be any political considerations, such considerations appear in a CV. That was the sole purpose of my question.
Perhaps Mrs. Daley can tell me how a candidate's mention of a political allegiance is treated at the time of hiring or in the selection process. Is that an advantage or a disadvantage? Is it disregarded?
Krista Daley Director General, Operations, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
No. This is some technical information with respect to how the selection advisory board works. We have nine competencies, and they are the ones you would imagine for a decision-maker: ability to communicate, good judgment, analyze, make decisions, a results orientation, ability to organize yourself, information skills.
One of the other competencies we look for is called “cultural competencies”, which is the idea of working and being involved in a diverse situation. Diversity is very broadly scoped and defined, so it could be working in a diverse situation where you're dealing with other cultures, races, genders, etc.
When people file their applications--and I would argue whether it's to this job or to any job--you look at the competencies listed and then you reflect the competencies the people are looking for as you do your resumé. As I understood, and maybe Madam Setton-LeMar could clarify if I've interpreted correctly, this aspect of her career profile was an element of showing that she was in a diverse situation at that time, and this is how she expressed it.
Bloc
Thierry St-Cyr Bloc Jeanne-Le Ber, QC
None of the seven million Quebeckers who worked in 1994 will characterize the atmosphere at that time as “highly politically charged” or as an adverse situation.
I'll stop there, because it seems to me quite clear that sentence was specifically designed to confirm a political allegiance. Personally, I don't think that has its place in a curriculum vitae prepared with a view to obtaining a non-partisan appointment.
I'd like to go back to—
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Norman Doyle
Order, order.
We're getting dangerously close, again, to violating the intent of Marleau and Montpetit. Again, I say to members, refer to Marleau and Montpetit, pages 875 to 877. I don't want to take up the committee's time and repeat these things over and over, but the area considered to be outside the scope of the committee's study is political affiliation of the appointee or nominee.
I will continue to eat into members' time if they continue to get on the fringes of violating that particular section of Marleau and Montpetit.
Bloc
Thierry St-Cyr Bloc Jeanne-Le Ber, QC
Mr. Chairman, there are two elements.
First, I am only referring to the curriculum vitae, which, by definition, is a summary of an individual's professional skills. If an individual includes certain elements in his curriculum vitae, it's because he feels that refers to a professional aspect. It isn't a political curriculum vitae.
Second, I would like to emphasize—
