I've tried to make the case that the chief statistician position is different from that of the regular roster of deputy ministers, in my opinion. That individual needs to be part of the deputy ministerial community, meet regularly with the clerk of the privy council, and be involved in the discussions of the statistical needs of the various departments and agencies of government. In other jurisdictions—as Ian McKinnon mentioned, we talked to people in the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand—there is a separate process of appointment.
I think that we should have a more customized, tailored appointment process for the chief statistician. There was one private member's bill that even suggested that individual should become another officer of parliament or agent of parliament. That's a terrible idea, a very bad idea, but—in recognition of the status of Statistics Canada as a “statutory agency”, which implies more independence, more impartiality, and more autonomy from the central decision-making apparatus of government—I think we should change the appointment process.
It will be hard to get any prime minister, regardless of which party is in power, to give up the prerogative to make these appointments, so I'm just saying we need a different advisory mechanism while retaining the right of the prime minister to select the final name.
Someone mentioned earlier the possibility that there might be advance consultations with leaders of all recognized parties in the House of Commons. That could be done, but it will slow down the process and we already have a significant backlog of order in council appointments. These sensitive positions like chief statistician should not be held on a probationary basis for very long.
I think there's a way here to give some opportunity to get better background knowledge about someone and make a qualified appointment. Getting the right person is critical, as I said earlier.