Agents of Parliament have held recent meetings to discuss the ways that their accountability can be highlighted and enhanced. We are pleased to provide you with the attached paper which discusses the results of our discussions. We would like to meet with you to discuss the paper and other perspectives that you may have about our accountability.
Agents of Parliament have held recent meetings to discuss the ways that their accountability can be highlighted and enhanced. We are pleased to provide you with the attached paper which discusses the results of our discussions. We would like to meet with you to discuss the paper and other perspectives that you may have about our accountability.
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Agents of Parliament have held recent meetings to discuss the ways that their accountability can be highlighted and enhanced. We are pleased to provide you with the attached paper which discusses the results of our discussions. We would like to meet with you to discuss the paper and other perspectives that you may have about our accountability.
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16 February 2011
‘The Honourable Peter Milliken, MLP. ‘The Honourable Joe Volpe, P.C., M.P.
Chair, Advisory Panel on the Funding and Chair, Standing Committee on Public Accounts
‘Oversight of Officers of Parliament
Mr. Joe Preston, M.P. Mr. Steven Blaney, MP.
Chair, Standing Committee on Procedure Chair, Standing Committee on Official Languages
and House Affairs
The Honourable Shawn Murphy, P.C., M.P. The Honourable John McKay, P.C., MP.
Chair, Standing Committee on Access to Chair, Standing Committee on Government
Information, Privacy and Ethics Operations and Estimates
Dear Sirs:
Re: Accountability of Agents of Parliament
‘The Agents of Parliament have held recent meetings to discuss the ways that their accountability can be
highlighted and enhanced. We are pleased to provide you with the attached paper which discusses the
results of our discussions.
We would like to meet with you to discuss the paper and other perspectives that you may have about our
accountability. We will contact your offices to arrange a time to meet to discuss these matters further.
Yours sincerely,
Busine Aran Te Jey
‘Sheila Fraser, FCA Karen E. Shepherd Marc Mayrand”
itor General of Canada Commissioner of Lobbying Chief Electoral Officer
( W Semi Gy Shabba ee bean Sree
a
‘Suzannp Legault Jennifer Stoddart Graham Fraser
Information Commssioner Privacy Commissioner Commissioner of Official
Languages
ARNOT Da.
We Mato Dion
Interim Public Sector Integrity
Commissioner
Enclosure
ce: Hon. Noa! Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate
Mr. Wayne Wouters, Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet,
Ms. Michelle D'Auray, Secretary of the Treasury Board
Mr. André Gagnon, Clerk of the Advisory Panel on the Funding and Oversight of Officers of Parliament
Ms. Joann Garbig, Clerk of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts
Ms. Michelle Tittley, Clerk of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs
Mr. Simon Larouche, Clerk of the Standing Committee on Officials Languages
Mr. Chad Mariage, Clerk of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics
Mr. Mare-Olivier Girard, Clerk of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates16 February 2011
THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF AGENTS OF PARLIAMENT
(1) Introduction and Background
We are writing further to recent discussions among the Agents of Parliament regarding
accountability considerations. We have agreed that the matters and options discussed
in this paper are important, and that further discussions should be held with
representatives of the parliamentary committees that oversee Agents of Parliament and
the Advisory Panel on the Funding and Oversight of Officers of Parliament (Advisory
Panel)
We are using the term “Agents of Parliament” to describe the Auditor General, the
Chief Electoral Officer; the Commissioner of Official Languages; the Privacy
‘Commissioner; the Information Commissioner; the Interim Public Sector Integrity
‘Commissioner; and the Commissioner of Lobbying. This is the term that is used by
government, It has been suggested that the term “Officers of Parliament” may be
confusing, as it is also used to describe other officers that serve Parliament, including
the Sergeant at Arms, the Usher of the Black Rod, and the Parliamentary Librarian.
The Agents of Parliament all recognize the importance of effective accountability to
Parliament. The Commissioner of Official Languages has aptly described the Agents of
Parliament as “guardians of values that transcend the political objectives and partisan
debates of the day’. These values include the responsible handling of taxpayers’ dollars,
the integrity of elections, transparency through access to information, privacy, the
integrity of public servants and lobbyists, and linguistic duality. Given that the Agents of
Parliament have statutory mandates that involve monitoring the behaviour of other
institutions, we have to meet the highest standards ourselves.
Due in part to the Report of the Auditor General on the Public Sector Integrity
‘Commissioner of Canada in December 2010, parliamentarians have asked whether
additional actions need to be taken to ensure that there are appropriate oversight
mechanisms to monitor Agents of Parliament and that the accountability system is
sufficient. While the report of the Auditor General noted serious concems with the
performance of a fellow Agent of Parliament, it can also be viewed as evidence that the
accountability system works and that there are mechanisms in place to monitor the
activities of the Agents of Parliament. It is timely, however, to examine whether the
issues reported by the Auditor General could have been identified sooner.
Itis also appropriate to assess how the accountability of Agents of Parliament can be
enhanced. The Agents of Parliament already provide a great deal of information relating
to their performance and the management of their offices in reports to Parliament, the
administrative reports provided to government, and through their websites. Some of the
key accountability reports are set out in Appendix A. Overall, we are of the view that the
regime established for the accountability of Agents of Parliament is sound. However, inthe sections that follow, we have identified some actions that may highlight or enhance
the accountability of the Agents of Parliament,
(2) The Role of the Parliamentary Committees
(a) Accountability Sessions
Parliamentary committees play an integral role in the accountability of Agents of
Parliament. The Standing Orders of the House of Commons provide that the mandated
reports of some of the Agents of Parliament are automatically referred to specific
Standing Committees for consideration and examination. In addition, the Main
Estimates, the Supplementary Estimates, the Report on Plans and Priorities and annual
Performance Report of the Agents of Parliaments are referred to the respective Standing
Committees as part of the annual accountability review by Parliament
The examination of the estimates, performance reports and plans and priorities of
Agents of Parliament provides an opportunity for parliamentary committees to consider
accountability as well. While some parliamentary committees already use the supply
process to hold “accountability sessions”, we believe that there are opportunities to
maximize the use of information that is already provided by Agents of Parliament during
these "accountability sessions’. The Agents of Parliament welcome the opportunity to
work with representatives of parliamentary committees to identify core information that
may be useful to the committees in their examination of the performance of Agents of
Parliament in the areas of financial management; human resources management; and
their mandated functions.
(b) The Appointment of Agents of Parliament
With the exception of the Chief Electoral Officer, the Agents of Parliament are appointed
by the Governor in Council following a parliamentary approval process. The Chief
Electoral Officer is appointed by resolution of the House of Commons. In light of the
nature of their duties and the trust that is placed in them, the appointment of Agents of
Parliament must be done with great care. The fact that Agents of Parliament have
security of tenure and are removable only for cause on the address of both Houses
further emphasizes the need for a rigorous appointment process. Accountability
mechanisms may not compensate for the appointment of an unsuitable individual
The Privy Council Office (PCO) coordinates the selection process for “key
appointments’, including heads of agencies, chairs of Crown corporations and Agents of
Parliament. PCO officials are involved in managing the appointment process, including
the specific actions that will be taken to identify suitable candidates, While appointment
processes may differ in structure, there is an expectation that all appointment processes
will be advertised and that qualified candidates will be identified. In this regard, there is
a set of criteria that is developed for use in evaluating the candidates who apply for an
appointment. In our view, the appointment process should ensure that recommended
candidates possess the ability to carry out mandated functions, as well as the ability to
effectively manage human and financial resources,
Given the importance of appointing qualified Agents of Parliament, there is an important
role that parliamentary committees can play in relation to the appointment process. In