Public Accounts committee  Right. That is part of the process, and that is something on which we have provided greater clarity and guidance to departments in terms of how judges are appointed to GIC positions. Whether there are currently lists available, I'm not in a position to say. That is something tha

Public Accounts committee  That's a very important point. That is part of the information that we seek to share and provide with departments. Departments and ministers' offices are also responsible for managing, as I said, the appointments in a minister's portfolio. Yes, we do. That is part of how we wou

Public Accounts committee  Yes, I think it is. Certainly if you google appointments you'll land there. More importantly, it is also accessible through the canada.ca web page, where all government traffic is directed, so I think it is fairly visible and available. We certainly do work to make sure it stays

Public Accounts committee  I think there are a number of things to first note. We do spend a lot of effort in terms of providing information to ministers and to departments about vacancies so that they can be effectively managed. This means we will look at vacancy reports with some forward dating so that d

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chair, I don't think I'm in a position to speak to the political process. My job in terms of senior personnel and the GIC appointments process is really doing, as I mentioned, the operational support and some of the advice. There may be reasons or considerations on the politi

Public Accounts committee  I would clarify that...and you're correct and have described the improvements in the process that have been made recently. Under the previous process, the process for appointing judges to GIC positions is the same in the sense that it requires the Minister of Justice to work with

Public Accounts committee  I was going to say that the process, in terms of those appointments, is different now. There was not a list made by a selection committee at that time. It was a process that was managed through the Department of Justice, with the Minister of Justice and judicial affairs. So I'm n

Public Accounts committee  Yes, we do know.

Public Accounts committee  I'm not in a position to—

Public Accounts committee  —provide information on whether the recommendations were made—

Public Accounts committee  —because the public service is there to support, as I mentioned, the process for appointments. In this case these are appointments that are managed through a negotiation and a discussion with the judiciary and the Minister of Justice. PCO, in our role, does not support that proce

Public Accounts committee  No.

Public Accounts committee  There is a process in terms of appointing judges, which, as the Auditor General noted, is slightly different in that it requires agreement with the judiciary. There is a process by which the Minister of Justice will work with judicial affairs in terms of making sure there are peo

Public Accounts committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. I am pleased to be here today to also discuss the findings of the report of the Auditor General on the Governor in Council appointment process for administrative tribunals. I think it would be helpful if I first take a few minu