Appointments and a Cabinet retreat: Public service notebook

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From a slew of appointments to an upcoming cabinet retreat, here are seven federal public service updates you should know.

1. Non-profit says Trudeau government is “hiding” commissioner appointment process

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2. Cabinet retreat to be held in Montreal ahead of next sitting of Parliament

3. Former minister Carolyn Bennett named Canada’s next ambassador to Denmark

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4. Federal executive pay up $571 million since 2015, taxpayers federation finds

5. Appointments made at the Canadian Transportation Agency

6. Chairperson of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission re-appointed for a one-year term

7. Prime minister announces several changes in the upper ranks of the public service

1. Non-profit says Trudeau government is “hiding” commissioner appointment process

Non-profit organization Democracy Watch published a news release on Thursday claiming that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet was hiding both how Interim Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein was appointed as well as how the full-term commissioner appointment process was moving forward.

In the news release, Democracy Watch shared that it recently received a letter asking for a 165-day extension on an access to information request for records relating to the appointment processes. It said the request was originally made in November and the organization had filed a complaint with the Information Commissioner, whose office was investigating the delay.

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“The extension by Cabinet/Privy Council Office (PCO) will delay the disclosure of the records until after the end of February, when von Finckenstein’s 6-month term as Interim Ethics Commissioner ends,” the release stated. “The Trudeau cabinet has said nothing about its secretive search for a person to appoint to a 7-year term as the next Ethics Commissioner and is playing the same game as the cabinet did in 2016-2017 by using a cabinet-controlled, partisan, political and secretive process for reviewing applications and hiding key information from opposition parties.”

Democracy Watch called on the government to eliminate bias by establishing “a fully independent appointments advisory committee whose members are approved by all parties in the House of Commons,” with the committee undertaking a “public, merit-based search for a short list of qualified candidates,” with an all-party House committee to make the final decision.

“This appointments system should be used for all the federal democratic good government watchdogs,” the release said.

2. Cabinet retreat to be held in Montreal ahead of next sitting of Parliament

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3. Former minister named Canada’s next ambassador to Denmark

Former minister and long-time Member of Parliament for Toronto-St. Paul’s Carolyn Bennett has been appointed Canada’s next Ambassador to Denmark following the announcement of her retirement from the House of Commons.

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A release by the Prime Minister’s Office announced the news on Wednesday, sharing that Bennett would work to advance the countries’ “shared priorities,” including “strengthening transatlantic security, expanding trade and investment, taking climate action, and building a better future for people on both sides of the Atlantic.”

First elected to the House of Commons in 1997, Bennett served as minister of state for public health, minister of Indigenous and northern affairs, minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, minister of mental health and addictions and associate minister of health.

“Carolyn Bennett has dedicated her entire life to community and service,” Trudeau said in the release. “As Canada’s Ambassador to Denmark, she will deepen the relationship between our two countries, including by advancing our shared commitment to protect the Arctic, take climate action, create good middle-class jobs, and build a better future for everyone.”

4. Federal executive pay up $571 million since 2015, taxpayers federation finds

The compensation of federal government executives has increased by $571 million since 2015, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

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A release shared by the organization on Wednesday indicated that average annual compensation for federal executives was $208,480 in 2022, up from $193,600 in 2015.

“From 2015 to 2022, executive compensation across federal departments and agencies rose from $1.38 billion to $1.95 billion – an increase of 41 per cent,” the release said. “Meanwhile, the number of federal executives grew from 7,138 to 9,371 – an increase of 31 per cent.”

The release stated that the increase in pay followed “years of underwhelming performance results across departments and agencies,” noting that, in 2022-23, federal departments hit just 50 per cent of their performance targets.

“In the last couple years, taxpayers have paid for tens of thousands of new bureaucrats, hundreds of thousands of pay raises and hundreds of millions in bonuses, and we’re still getting poor performance from the bureaucracy,” CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano said in the release. “Trudeau needs to take air out of the ballooning bureaucracy, and he should start by reining in the c-suite.”

5. Appointments made at the Canadian Transportation Agency

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Minister of Transport Pablo Rodriguez has announced two new appointments at the Canadian Transportation Agency.

In a release on Thursday, Transport Canada said that J. Mark MacKeigan had been reappointed as a member for a four-year term effective Nov. 28, 2023, and that Marisa Eva Victor had been appointed for a four-year term effective Jan. 9.

“We are appointing qualified members to the Canadian Transportation Agency to ensure a competitive, accessible, and sustainable transportation system,” Rodriguez said in the release, which noted that appointments were made through a Governor-in-Council selection process. “I wish them well and look forward to seeing them play a crucial role advancing the goals of the agency and shaping the future of Canada’s transportation landscape.”

6. Chairperson of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission re-appointed for a one-year term

Michelaine Lahaie, chairperson of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission, has been re-appointed for a one-year term, effective Jan. 2.

Lahaie was first appointed to the position for a five-year term in January 2019. The CRCC is an independent agency that reviews complaints about the conduct of RCMP members. It can also initiate complaints and investigations.

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“I would like to thank Ms. Lahaie for her ongoing commitment to the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission,” Dominic LeBlanc, minister of public safety, democratic institutions and intergovernmental affairs, said in a news release earlier this month. “Her work as chair will continue to be key to further strengthening the relationship between RCMP members and the communities they work to keep safe.”

7. Trudeau announces several changes in the upper ranks of the public service

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a whopping 10 changes within the senior ranks of the federal public service, including three appointments to the Privy Council Office.

The Prime Minister’s Office said in a release that Catherine Luelo, Canada’s former chief information officer who recently resigned, became a senior official at PCO, effective Jan. 15. Her role will be to advise the Clerk on digital transformation and information technology sector talent management. The release stated that the government was still working to find her replacement as chief information officer.

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Christiane Fox, deputy minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, will become deputy clerk of the Privy Council and associate secretary to the cabinet on Jan. 27, with Nathalie G. Drouin, who currently holds that role, to become deputy clerk of the Privy Council and national security and intelligence advisor to the prime minister on the same day.

Other appointees included:

Cliff Groen, business lead, benefits delivery modernization at Employment and Social Development Canada, who became associate deputy minister of Employment and Social Development and chief operating officer for Service Canada effective immediately.

John Ostrander, technical lead, benefits delivery modernization at Employment and Social Development Canada, who became business lead on the job effective immediately.

Michelle Kovacevic, senior assistant deputy minister for the Federal-Provincial Relations and Social Policy Branch at the Department of Finance Canada, who will become associate deputy minister of Indigenous Services on Jan. 22.

Raj Thuppal, assistant deputy minister and chief information officer at National Defence, who will become executive vice-president of Shared Services Canada on Jan. 22.

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Rob Wright, assistant deputy minister, science and parliamentary infrastructure branch, at Public Services and Procurement Canada, who will become associate deputy minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations on Jan. 22.

Harpreet S. Kochhar, president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, who will become the deputy minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship on Jan. 27.

Paul MacKinnon, deputy secretary to the Cabinet (Governance) at the Privy Council Office, who will become president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Jan. 27.

Trudeau congratulated Jody Thomas, Lori MacDonald and Paula Isaak and their retirements.

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