Mr. Speaker, I would like to go over what is a successful model in which we should all take immense pride and move forward with.
I welcome this opportunity to contribute to this debate today in response to a motion by the hon. member for Hamilton Centre and to speak about our government's commitment to the highest standards of openness and transparency.
During the 2015 election campaign, we committed to delivering real change to how government worked. It meant setting a higher bar for openness and transparency in government that would be accountable to Parliament and Canadians.
The results of that last election were clear and unambiguous. Canadians voted for a government to do different things and to do things differently. At times, this has meant challenging the conventional ways of doing things and embracing change to find the solutions we need to make government more fair, open and transparent.
Today we have fulfilled several commitments to changing the status quo to make Parliament more fair and open, which includes applying a more rigorous approach to appointments. Our government, with the invaluable help of public servants, stopped the practice of rewarding party loyalists with Senate and Governor in Council appointments.
Instead we have put in place an open, transparent and merit-based appointment process to help identify highly qualified candidates who are committed to the principles of public service and embrace the public service values. Since implementing a new approach in 2016, more than 25,000 applications have been submitted online for appointment opportunities in close to 200 federal organizations.
To date, over 900 appointments have been made, including appointments to the eight officer of Parliament positions, following more than 250 open, transparent and merit-based selection processes. Of these incumbents, over 50% have self-identified as women, 12% as visible minorities, 9% as indigenous peoples and 4% as persons with a disability. This number includes the appointment of eight officers of Parliament.
There are 11 officers of Parliament: the Auditor General of Canada, the Chief Electoral Officer, the Commissioner of Lobbying, the Commissioner of Official Languages, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, the Information Commissioner, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the President of the Public Service Commission, the Privacy Commissioner, the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner and the Senate Ethics Officer.
Each of these officers of Parliament has a unique mandate and every one of them plays an important role in our democracy.
The Auditor General was the first such officer of Parliament, established just after Confederation in 1868.
In 1920, the role of the Chief Electoral Officer was created to ensure an independent body was in place to oversee our elections.
The Commissioner of Lobbying was established in 2008.
In the past, appointments were made behind closed doors, at the discretion of the minister or the prime minister, based strictly on politics. The process rewarded partisan loyalists with plum well-paid positions across the federal government.
In February 2016, this government took steps to put a stop to this. We put in place a more rigorous approach to the Governor in Council appointments, an approach that is founded on the principles of openness, transparency and merit. These changes also apply to the process to appoint officers of Parliament.
What does this mean in practice for officers of Parliament?
First, a notice of appointment opportunity is developed and posted on the Governor in Council appointments website. A link to the notice is also posted on the Canada Gazette website and the website of the organization, which is filling the position. Every person who feels he or she meets the qualifications of the position can register online and submit his or her candidacy.
Second, a recruitment strategy is developed for every selection process to identify people who are interested, willing and able to serve. This may include engaging an executive search firm or developing an advertising strategy and may also involve targeted outreach to communities of interest, such as professional associations and stakeholders. This process eventually leads to the identification of a highly qualified candidate.
This process for government appointments to Governor in Council positions, including officers of Parliament, is ensuring that the results are open, transparent and based on merit. In that spirit of openness and transparency, there is also collaboration and goodwill. When a selection process for an officer of Parliament is launched, this government has sent letters to leaders and critics of the opposition parties in one or both Houses of Parliament. For recent processes, the government has also sent letters to the Speakers of both Houses, given the reporting relationship of the position. The purpose of these letters is to promote awareness of the advertised position and to seek input on potential candidates who may be interested in these unique opportunities to serve Canadians.
It is important to emphasize that these letters are not required in statute. They exemplify the openness and the transparency our government stands by, as well as our respect for the input of prospective officials in the appointment process and the role of Parliament. In the case of most officers of Parliament there is also a legislative requirement that, once the government has identified a candidate, it consult with the leader of every recognized party in one or both houses of Parliament.
We have been meeting these obligations. Mr. Speaker, your ruling on this very matter, last year on May 29, confirmed this. Typically, a nominee is invited to appear before the appropriate committee to review his or her qualifications. Legislation also requires approval by resolution of one or both houses of Parliament. A selection process is overseen by a selection committee, which reviews applications to ensure they meet established criteria and then selects a short list of candidates for further assessment through interviews and other assessments that are required.
Candidates whom the selection committee considers to be highly qualified for consideration for appointment also undergo formal reference checks to further assess their personal suitability. The committee presents formal advice to the responsible minister on the most qualified candidates for consideration. The minister then uses the selection committee's advice in finalizing his or her recommendation to the Governor in Council.
It is important to recognize the tenure of officers of Parliament. Furthermore, this motion seeks to have a special committee select all officers of Parliament at the beginning of each new Parliament. However, the length of the tenure in office varies between seven and 10 years, with some positions eligible for reappointment while others are not, since the minimal length of a tenure for all officers of Parliament being seven years means some positions would not be vacated during the five-year constitutional limit of Parliament. Therefore, this motion would overrule the tenure limits outlined in the appropriate acts by having the special committee select all officers of Parliament at the beginning of each new Parliament. Additionally, with some positions eligible for a reappointment, officers with the term ending within the five-year constitutional limit would have to either reapply or give notice of their intention not to be reappointed at the beginning of each new Parliament, possibly years before the expiry of the term.
There are many opportunities for parliamentarians to have their say on the appointments to these important roles. In the case of officers of Parliament, our government has included early engagement with parliamentarians at the outset of the process to seek their input. This is in addition to the legislative requirement for consultation, which a ruling in this House has confirmed that we are meeting. Consultation is followed by nomination, which is followed by a nominee's appearance before one or more committees. There is then a statutory requirement to have the appointment approved by resolution in the House of Commons or the Senate or both.
I genuinely believe that the Prime Minister and this government have fulfilled a commitment that he made to Canadians in the last federal election. Today, unlike with prior prime ministers or governments, we do have a very transparent, very open process that is based on merit. We have seen that in the hundreds of appointments that this government has made. Whether talking about the issues of gender, minorities or disabilities, this government has demonstrated that as a government we are committed to transparency; we are committed to finding the best, most-qualified Canadians in order to fill these very important jobs, not only the independent parliamentary officers but for all the Governor in Council appointments. We believe in our civil service and the fine work that our many civil servants do, day in and day out.
We are asking for opposition members to recognize the significant change that has taken place under this administration since 2016. Any objective person looking in and looking at the results of the appointments that this Prime Minister and cabinet and government have made will find that they have been of great significance in terms of merit and in terms of ensuring that there was a sense of transparency and openness. I am proud of the way in which this government has approached appointments in Canada.