The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Special Committee to
Appoint a Merit Commissioner

Report

1st Session, 39th Parliament

December 21, 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Composition of the Committee

Terms of Reference

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Meeting Schedule

Recruitment Process

Recommendation

Biographical Information

Appendix A: Advertisement

Appendix B: Public Service Act

December 21, 2009

To the Honourable
Legislative Assembly of the
Province of British Columbia

Honourable Members:

We have the honour to present herewith the Report of the Special Committee to Appoint a Merit Commissioner containing our unanimous recommendation.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Committee,

COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE

MEMBERS

CLERK TO THE COMMITTEE
Craig James, Clerk Assistant and Clerk of Committees

COMMITTEE RESEARCHERS
Josie Schofield, Manager, Committee Research Services

TERMS OF REFERENCE

1. On October 20, 2009, it was agreed that a Special Committee be appointed to select and unanimously recommend to the Legislative Assembly, pursuant to section 5.01 of the Public Service Act (RSBC 1996, c. 385), the appointment of an individual to hold office as the Merit Commissioner for the Province of British Columbia, and that the Special Committee so appointed shall have the powers of a Select Standing Committee, and is also empowered:
   1. to appoint of their number, one or more subcommittees and to refer to such subcommittees any of the matters referred to the Committee;
   2. to sit during any period in which the House is adjourned, during the recess after prorogation until the next following Session and during any sitting of the House;
   3. to conduct meetings by any means the committee considers appropriate, including but not limited to telephone and videoconferencing;
   4. to adjourn from place to place as may be convenient; and
   5. to retain such personnel as required to assist the Committee;
   and shall report to the House as soon as possible, or following any adjournment of the House, or at the next following Session, as the case may be; to deposit the original of its reports with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly during a period of adjournment and upon the resumption of the sittings of the House, the Chair shall present all reports to the Legislative Assembly.

That the Special Committee to Appoint a Merit Commissioner be comprised of John Rustad (Convener), Douglas Horne, Norm Letnick, Dawn Black and Leonard Krog.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In May 2006, Joy Illington was appointed as the first Merit Commissioner to be an independent Officer of the Legislature – and the first person to hold such a position in a Commonwealth parliament. Regrettably, she has chosen to retire at the end of her three-year term of office.

On behalf of all Members of the Legislative Assembly, the Special Committee would like to acknowledge the exceptional contributions Ms. Illington has made throughout her career in the B.C. Public Service. During the past three years, she has championed the benefits of merit-based hiring with courage, grace and passion and also established a well-functioning office.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Joy and send our very best wishes in her future endeavours, which include serving as the B.C.-Yukon representative on the board of the Canadian Blood Services.

INTRODUCTION

An amendment to the Public Service Act (RSBC 1996, c. 385), effective November 2005, established the Merit Commissioner as an independent Officer of the Legislature. Under the Act, the Merit Commissioner has the authority to monitor public service appointments to ensure the application of the merit principle in hiring and promotions in the B.C. Public Service.

Section 5.01 of the Public Service Act specifies the procedure for the appointment of a Merit Commissioner. The Lieutenant Governor in Council must appoint an individual recommended by the Legislative Assembly, based on a unanimous recommendation by a special committee. The individual serves on a part-time basis for a three-year term that can be renewed.

This procedure was used to appoint Joy Illington, who served as Merit Commissioner from May 2006 until May 2009. Pending the selection of her successor, Ms. Illington stayed on as Acting Merit Commissioner until November 4. She then continued on solely in an administrative-caretaker role, by leave of the House, to assist the transition.

In accordance with section 5.01 (3) of the Public Service Act, this report contains the Special Committee’s unanimous recommendation to the Legislative Assembly in regard to the appointment of the second independent Merit Commissioner for British Columbia.

MEETING SCHEDULE

During the fall, the recruitment of a new Merit Commissioner covered the period between October 21 and December 1, 2009. In addition to informal discussions regarding the schedule and recruitment process, six formal meetings were held for the following purposes:

Wednesday, October 21, 2009	Organization/Planning
Thursday, November 19, 2009 (am)	Briefing on Office of the Merit Commissioner Screening of applications
Thursday, November 19, 2009 (pm)	Selection of candidates to interview
Monday, November 23, 2009	Short-list candidate interviews
Tuesday, November 24, 2009	Short-list candidate interviews
Tuesday, December 1, 2009	Short-list candidate interviews Deliberations
Friday, December 18, 2009	Adoption of Report

RECRUITMENT PROCESS

On October 21, 2009, the Special Committee to Appoint a Merit Commissioner held its organizational meeting and elected the Chair and Deputy Chair. Committee members requested an oral briefing by the outgoing Merit Commissioner, which took place on November 19.

As part of the preliminary planning process, the Committee, with assistance from the Office of the Clerk of Committees, carried out a variety of administrative and procedural tasks related to selection criteria, advertising placement, processing of applications, preparation of position and candidate profile, drafting of interview questions, and reference checks.

Between October 28 and November 1, an advertisement was placed in British Columbia’s daily newspapers inviting applications for the part-time position of Merit Commissioner. A copy of the advertisement is in Appendix A.

The Special Committee received 48 applications for the position of Merit Commissioner by the November 10 deadline; 47 were submitted by residents of British Columbia, and one from the Yukon. Seven applicants were short-listed, based on their educational/professional qualifications, past work experience in the public service, demonstrated neutrality, strong communication skills. One short-listed applicant withdrew from the competition.

Six interviews were conducted on November 23, November 24 and December 1. Each candidate was asked the same set of questions to ensure consistency. Once the interviews were concluded, the Special Committee deliberated carefully on the skill set of each short-listed candidate before selecting the person to recommend as the province’s next Merit Commissioner.

RECOMMENDATION

The Special Committee unanimously recommends to the Legislative Assembly that Fiona Spencer be appointed to the position of Merit Commissioner, pursuant to section 5.01 (3) of the Public Service Act.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Fiona Spencer recently retired from the federal public service in Ottawa at the Assistant Deputy Minister level. Her wealth of experience enables her to bring to all levels of management practical advice and a common sense approach to dealing with the full range of management issues: from mentoring new or aspiring managers on the “how to” of management, to tackling the most complex human resource issues, to providing strategic advice and guidance to an organization’s senior management team.

During her 30 year career, Fiona held executive positions in the human resources (HR) field in a number of federal departments and agencies. She also served in the Privy Council Office where her responsibilities included providing advice and guidance on public service-wide HR issues and on HR matters related to the federal government’s most senior managers (including Deputy Ministers and CEOs of Crown Corporations). Fiona also has significant experience dealing with union/management issues.

Fiona Spencer is known for her creative problem solving, organizational abilities, management skills, as well as her ability to mentor, coach and develop talent. Her ability to analyze issues and help managers focus on and address the often complex and sensitive HR elements of those issues, make her a valuable counsellor and advisor. Fiona’s view is that a commitment to effective HR management is vital to any organization’s success. This philosophy manifests itself in the work that she does and the positive results for those organizations in which she has worked.

Fiona Spencer has received a number of awards and honours. Those of which she is most proud include the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for exemplary service; the Head of the Public Service Award for Valuing and Supporting People; the 2006 Ottawa Citizen Vision Award for HR Professional of the Year; and the Hicks Morley Vision Award for Strategic Goals Champion.

APPENDIX A: ADVERTISEMENT

APPENDIX B: PUBLIC SERVICE ACT

Part 1 — Introductory Provisions

Part 2 — Agency Head and Merit Commissioner

Part 3 — Appointments to the Public Service

Part 4 — Review of Staffing Decisions

Part 5 — Miscellaneous