Appointment vacancies dog federal government
More than a year after the federal Liberals launched a new process meant to reduce patronage and increase the transparency of the government appointment process, a huge number of positions remain unfilled — affecting everything from refugee appeals to courtroom delays to the independent watchdogs of Parliament.
The new process, announced in February, 2016, was meant to create a more arm’s-length method of filling the roughly 1,500 positions to which the government appoints its preferred candidates — at federal agencies, on boards, commissions and administrative tribunals, as well as at the head of Crown corporations. Nearly every such position is now advertised online, and committees sort through applications and recommend applicants with a mandate to improve gender and ethnic diversity.
But the introduction of the revamped process caused appointments to virtually grind to a halt for a year. A CBC study in March found the number of vacancies and expired terms had ballooned to nearly 600 — roughly a third of all positions. Things only started moving again in June, when the government made more than 100 appointments. But a National Post evaluation this week found about 300 remaining vacancies and 150 instances where somebody continues to serve in a job beyond the expiration of their term, with hundreds more expiring this fall.
The effects reach far beyond Parliament Hill. In June, immigrations appeals in B.C. and Alberta had to be scaled back because of vacancies on the boards that conduct hearings. Today there are still 41 vacancies, accounting for almost half the appointed positions.
In May, the outgoing head of the Military Grievances External Review Committee complained it was severely restricted in its ability to review complaints from Canadian Forces members due to vacancies, saying “our men and women in uniform deserve better ... I deeply regret that the committee could not do more this year.” Three of the four appointed positions remain empty.
The government brought the same new approach to appointing judges, but it took the better part of a year to staff up the judicial advisory committees that make recommendations. A Senate report in June slammed the government’s sluggish pace in appointing judges, saying it was contributing to the court delay crisis. As of July 1, there were still 49 vacancies across Canada.
Liberal officials have said it just takes time to find the right people, and that the delay is worth it in the long run — particularly when it comes to improving diversity. Statistics provided by the Prime Minister’s Office say that as of mid-June the government’s nominees have been 70-per-cent women, 12-percent visible minorities, and 10-per-cent Indigenous.
But in the meantime, many organizations have been hobbled. The board of the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse is missing a chairperson and four directors. The National Aboriginal Economic Development Board is missing a chairperson and six members. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research governing council has 10 vacancies and an interim chairperson.
The Veterans Review and Appeal Board has an interim chairperson and eight vacancies. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety has no president and its board has 10 vacancies.
There are also big, fulltime jobs to appoint, including an RCMP commissioner, the CBC president and board chair, a Senate ethics officer, and the House of Commons sergeant-at-arms (which has sat vacant since Kevin Vickers left in 2015).
Then there’s the delay in replacing the independent officers of Parliament. Five of the eight officers have had their terms expire since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s election, but he has yet to successfully appoint a single new one.
The only candidate to make it through was Madeleine Meilleur, whom the government wanted as the new official languages commissioner. But despite the heralded non-partisan appointment process, Meilleur had to withdraw after a firestorm over her Liberal ties.
The jobs of Official Languages commissioner and chief electoral officer have now sat vacant for half-ayear. The commissioners for lobbying, ethics and information have had the terms of their occupants repeatedly extended.