Governor in Council Appointments
Background
Governor in Council (GIC) appointments are those made by the GIC – the Governor General acting on advice of Cabinet. An Order in Council is the legal instrument, which, when signed by the Governor General, formalizes an appointment.
In 2016, the Government implemented a new approach for GIC appointments. Appointments are subject to a formal, advertised selection process (GIC appointments website), and candidates are assessed against the selection criteria developed for the position. Recommendations under this process take into consideration gender parity, representation of Indigenous Peoples, linguistic, regional and employment equity representation.
The Privy Council Office (PCO) is responsible for supporting the GIC appointments process for some 2,000 GIC positions on behalf of the Prime Minister and his Office. As the Minister of Public Safety, you are responsible for managing vacancies to ensure continuity of operations – there is a total of 110 active GIC positions within the Public Safety Portfolio. You are also encouraged to provide advance notice to incumbents, to inform them of the process should they wish to be reappointed.
GIC appointments in the Public Safety Portfolio fall into five categories:
I. Appointments to Portfolio review bodies made on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Safety:
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police External Review Committee (ERC) – maximum of five members (including a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson)
- Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP (CRCC) – maximum of five members (including a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson)
- Office of the Correctional Investigator (OCI) – the Correctional Investigator
II. Appointments to a Portfolio independent body made on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Safety:
- Parole Board of Canada (PBC) – maximum of 60 full-time and an unspecified complement of part-time Board members (approx. 30), to hold office during good behaviour for periods not exceeding 10 years (full-time positions) and three years (part-time positions).
Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the PBC - On recommendation of the Minister of Public Safety, the GIC shall designate one of the full-time members of the Board to be its Chairperson and one to be its Executive Vice-Chairperson.
- PCO manages the selection process for leadership positions in the PBC, and will provide general oversight of all selection processes.
Members of the PBC - The management of selection processes for non-leadership positions within the PBC is currently delegated to the Minister of Public Safety.
- Under this delegated responsibility and with the oversight of the Minister of Public Safety, the PBC assumes the management of selection processes for all non-leadership positions.
- The Chairperson submits regional lists of qualified candidates, as needed, in writing to the Minister of Public Safety for appointment consideration.
- The Minister of Public Safety recommends appointments to the GIC from the pool of qualified candidates, taking into account the Chairperson’s recommendations regarding PBC operational requirements, as well as any gender, diversity and linguistic requirements.
III. Appointments to the RCMP Interim Management Advisory Board, which consists of up to 13 part-time members appointed by the GIC, including the Chair and Vice-Chair, on recommendation of the Prime Minister, to hold office during pleasure for a term of 18 months.
IV. Appointments, promotions, and retirements of commissioned officers in the RCMP, made on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Safety, which are managed by the RCMP itself, without involvement of the Department or the Deputy Minister. There are over 700 commissioned officers in the RCMP but they are not counted among the Portfolio’s GIC population.
V. Appointments to deputy-level positions made on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, which are managed by PCO:
- Deputy Minister of Public Safety
- Associate Deputy Minister of Public Safety
- President and Executive Vice-President of the Canada Border Services Agency
- Commissioner of the RCMP
- Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
- Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada
Status
The vacancy rate of the Portfolio is approximately 12% (13 vacancies out of 110 active GIC positions). Eleven vacant positions belong to the PBC (12% vacancy rate – 11 vacancies out of a complement of 91).
Considerations
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Next Steps
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