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Parliament to Review Appointments
March 16, 2004
Ottawa, Ontario
NEWS RELEASE
The Honourable Jacques Saada, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister Responsible for Democratic Reform, today announced further steps to deliver on the government's commitment to ensure prior Parliamentary review of key government appointments.
Specifically, the Minister has written to each Standing Committee Chairperson in the House of Commons to seek their input and direction on which appointments their respective committees wish to review. A list of key appointments falling under each committee's mandate was provided to individual Chairs.
"This government believes that Parliamentarians from all parties should have the opportunity to review and provide input on key appointments," said Minister Saada. "We are confident that Parliamentary oversight will produce stronger candidates, better appointments, deeper accountability and more transparency for the hiring process."
In keeping with his commitment in the Action Plan for Democratic Reform, the Minister has asked for the advice of Committees on which of these positions should be subject to prior parliamentary review, and that they report their recommendations back to the House of Commons as soon as possible.
The government has also asked the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness for recommendations on how best to implement prior review of Supreme Court of Canada Justices.
These initiatives fulfill a December 12, 2003 commitment of the Prime Minister, which were reiterated in the Speech from the Throne and the Action Plan for Democratic Reform.
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