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Section I: Organizational Overview

Raison d’être

The 2006 Federal Accountability Act provides for the creation of the Public Appointments Commission.

The mandate of the Commission is to oversee the processes through which people are appointed to agencies, boards, commissions and Crown corporations. The mandate of the Commission does not extend to making individual appointments.

The Public Appointments Commission Secretariat, which was created by Order in Council on April 21, 2006, is responsible for:

• laying the groundwork for the Commission, including the elaboration of a Code of Practice and associated guidance regarding selection processes for Governor-in-Council appointments;
• providing advice and support in assessing compliance with the Code of Practice, including compliance audits;
• supporting the Commission, once established, with the preparation of an annual report to the Prime Minister and to Parliament, on compliance to the Code of Practice; and
• in advance of the Commission’s establishment, supporting Privy Council Office officials in their efforts to continuously improve the efficiency, fairness and transparency of the existing framework governing the public appointments system.

Responsibilities

The primary role of the Secretariat is to provide advice and support for the development of the Commission.

Once the Commission is established, the role of the Secretariat will be to assist the Commission to review and implement its Code of Practice and to implement the policies, procedures and partnerships required to successfully oversee and report on the selection processes for Governor-in-Council appointments to the agencies, boards, commissions and Crown corporations under the Commission’s jurisdiction.

The development work of the Secretariat, which includes research and the identification of best practices, is shared with Privy Council Office officials, who work on a daily basis with partners to improve appointment processes and to ensure that the processes are geared toward the specific needs of the organizations.

Strategic Outcome(s) and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)

The Commission has one strategic outcome, as described below, which is supported by two program activities.

Strategic Outcome

Program Activity:  Oversight of Governor-in-Council appointments

Oversight of Governor-in-Council appointments covers activities relating to: the development of options for a principle-based and proportional Code of Practice, including minimum standards covering selection criteria, recruitment strategies and assessment processes; the development of procedures and guidance to assist auditors to assess compliance with the Code of Practice, once implemented; continued research into domestic and international agencies responsible for public appointments to identify best practices; the development of frameworks for reporting to the Prime Minister and Parliament; and internal evaluation frameworks to measure success in achieving the mandate. Additionally, advice and best practices are shared with Privy Council Office officials to support ongoing improvements to existing appointment frameworks.

Program Activity:  Internal Services

The Public Appointments Commission Secretariat is limited in size and the Secretariat must function as a department within the meaning of Schedule 1.1 of the Financial Administration Act. For this reason, the Privy Council Office's Corporate Services Branch provides most administrative and financial services under a Memorandum of Understanding.

Organizational Priorities

Risk Analysis

As the Commission was not established/operational in 2010-11, the Secretariat’s work was completed “in draft”; that is, subject to the approval of the Commission, once established. In 2010-11, there was no permanent staffing of the Secretariat. The Secretariat’s work primarily focused on research and identification of best practices, to be shared on a timely basis with Privy Council Office officials, in order to inform their ongoing reform efforts in support of the appointments system.

Summary of Performance

2010-11 Financial Resources (thousands of dollars)

2010-11 Human Resources (FTEs)

Expenditure Profile

Departmental Spending Trend (thousands of dollars)

The Secretariat was fully operational in 2006-07, the year of its establishment. Shortly thereafter, the Commission was held in abeyance. Since 2007-08, the Secretariat has been laying groundwork for a new Commission, and its expenditures have remained stable for the past three fiscal years. Total planned spending will only be required once the Commission resumes full operation.

Estimates by Vote

For information on our organizational Votes and/or statutory expenditures, please see the 2010–11 Public Accounts of Canada (Volume II) publication. An electronic version of the Public Accounts is available on the Public Works and Government Services Canada website. ⁴

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