Statement made on 10 April 2008 by Senator Percy Downe
Hon. Percy Downe:
I congratulate our colleague from New Brunswick on her outstanding work on this file. She has worked on it for many months, and she is close to a successful conclusion.
Was the committee concerned that the authority for departmental hiring had been transferred from an independent, nonpartisan agency, the Public Service Commission, to deputy ministers who are appointed by the Prime Minister? These deputy ministers do not go through competition, public interviews or public advertisements.
I say this in a non-partisan manner; I am not talking about the current Prime Minister or past prime ministers. However, in 10 years, we could be in a situation where a prime minister appoints deputy ministers who are instructed to hire various people in the department, which is a setback from the system we have had since the early 1900s. It is a concern, and I believe it is a weakness in the system.
The chair of the committee indicated that the Public Service Commission has found, as I understood his presentation, violations of the hiring code. What do they do? They consult, they look at the violations and review them.
The people who have been hired — if I understood the Chair correctly — have not lost their jobs. Those people have been hired against the rules, as the Public Service Commission understands them, but they continue to be employed. That would not have happened had the Public Service Commission still been in charge of hiring for the Public Service of Canada, is that correct?
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