Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  Proposed subsection 1.1(2) of amendment NDP-22A refers to the appointments to the Public Appointments Commission and not to all Governor in Council appointments.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  Standing Order 110 provides for the tabling of all Governor in Council appointment orders in council with the House of Commons.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  Allow me to answer the question. The amendment provides for accountability in terms of how appointments are made. For example, the obligation to report material failure is not an insignificant measure, quite the opposite. Although the report is submitted to the Prime Minister, because it is ultimately the Prime Minister who is responsible for the appointment process within government, it also has to be tabled both in the House of Commons and in the Senate.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  In the design of the Public Appointments Commission and in the order in council that created it, the notion was to have a body that would be involved in overseeing the selection process proposed by agencies, boards, commissions, and departments for filling those positions, to ensure that the process is open, fair, and transparent, and that a clear statement of qualifications is made and the people applying for the positions are evaluated on the basis of those qualifications.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  Essentially it's a question of the mandates, the Public Service Commission, of course, having the mandate for overseeing the appointment process for public servants. The question is, does it make policy sense to give the commission a mandate also over Governor in Council appointments?

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  The Chief Electoral Officer, under the act, would have to report to the Speaker of the House on the proposed process for establishing qualifications and the selection process for returning officers, so the Chief Electoral Officer is accountable to Parliament for how he or she goes about establishing qualifications and determining the selection process for returning officers.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  Thank you. I would support what Monsieur Chénier has described. It's an accurate description. The proposed amendment makes reference to the definition clause under the Public Service Employment Act, so it's simply limited to indicating that it's a process for people who are outside the public service.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  The Public Service Commission has authority over the hiring of public servants, so the Elections Canada employees of the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer are public servants, and would be covered by the Public Service Commission—but not returning officers.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  I would just point out that the intent of this provision is to allow for appointments that until now have been made under the Public Service Employment Act by way of exclusion order, and it's a way of regularizing this so that it is now authorized by this amendment to the Public Service Employment Act.