AS OF THIS WRITING, it appears the next CRTC chair will be an interim one – someone who will keep the lights on and the bills paid through the summer, at least.
It could be vice-chair telecom Peter Menzies (although according to sources he’s made it known to associates and others he does not want the job), one of the other four remaining commissioners (Yves Dupras, Stephen Simpson, Chris MacDonald and Linda Vennard) or perhaps the recently departed interim vice-chair broadcasting Judith LaRocque will be asked to return for another six-month stint, except this time as interim chair.
This was not the plan.
Everybody has long known the mandate of chairman Jean-Pierre Blais (who used his final speech as chair as a flamethrower, charring almost everyone) expires on Saturday, yet there is still no one hired. As well, since the chairman glibly went after the government in his speech and has told reporters he’s not interested in staying on any longer, he won’t be extended like other commissions’ chairs have been by a government which can’t seem to find enough time to fill some big jobs.
The vice-chair position has preposterously been open since the fall of 2015. It was only filled on a last-minute interim basis by Mme LaRocque in the fall of 2016 as a favour to the government so that there would be enough Francophones on the French language TV license renewal hearing panel.
Blais rightly noted in his speech Tuesday that the fact his and the vice-chair positions – not to mention the other commissioner vacancies – remain unfilled “is just bad governance.” (Speaking of governance, Blais’ own needs some work, something we’ll get to below.)
According to many sources who asked not to be named lest it impact their jobs, the Prime Minister’s office thought they had their candidate, ISED associate deputy minister Kelly Gillis, wrapped up two months ago. However, these same Ottawa sources tell us now that she voluntarily removed her name from consideration sometime in the past few weeks – after the job was all but officially offered to her.
That has left the government scrambling. It has committed to a “transparent and open” process, asking anyone interested to apply – but it is well-known in Ottawa circles that the federal government also wants a female chair – and one nearer in age to the millennial generation, not pointed towards retirement. Gillis, a smart, well-respected ADM, checked all the boxes.
The feds also made it known in Ottawa they wanted to announce a new vice-chair at the same time as they announced the new chair – but sources we know tell us they were calling around checking references on their vice-chair candidates only days ago.
The Liberal government was none too pleased with the chairman’s “bad governance” statement, or with his other advice on what it should do with TV, telecom and broadband. When we asked the Heritage Ministry for a response to Blais’ claims about bad governance (because the CRTC jobs are officially Minister Mélanie Joly’s file) and when a new chair will be announced, we instead received an answer directly from the Privy Council’s Office – a rare occurrence for this reporter.
“In February 2016, Prime Minister Trudeau announced a new approach to Governor in Council (GIC) appointments. The approach supports open, transparent, and merit-based selection processes that will result in the recommendation of high-quality candidates to achieve gender parity and truly reflect Canada’s diversity,” reads an email to Cartt.ca from Paul Duchesne, the PCO’s director of corporate and media affairs.
“The length of time for selection and appointment processes can vary according to the nature and responsibility of the position advertised, the availability of the candidate, and the particular assessment tools being used. The more rigorous approach to conducting selection processes represents a significant volume of work. These efforts will support the identification of highly qualified candidates who have been assessed against publicly advertised criteria,” the email continues.
“In exceptional circumstances, such as the need to ensure business continuity, interim appointments or reappointments of up to one year may be made (subject to any legislative provisions) to allow time for the completion of a selection process. These interim appointments provide leadership continuity in these offices and allow time for the selection processes to be completed and the appointments to be made following the required Parliamentary consultation and approval. The Government is committed to carrying out selection processes for these leadership positions, including the CRTC Chairman position, as expeditiously as possible.”
These are excellent words and we’re happy the process is open and transparent – but this is not the hiring of a new manager for your local Subway, and this has already taken far too long, by any measure. CRTC chair (and any of the commissioners, really) is not a job you leave to fate – to simply see who applies and pick from the lot. If a great candidate does offer up their resume, that’s super, but this is an incredibly important, senior executive position where the government should also be identifying top candidates and pursuing them.
That, too, can also be done openly and transparently.
The process has dragged on so long now without a candidate being identified that our sources also tell us the Heritage Minister and Prime Minister’s Office is seriously considering starting the search over.
“As to his management of his colleagues, he left some smoldering ruins where collegial relations once prevailed.” – Timothy Denton, former CRTC commissioner
Think about it. If the feds look beyond the public service sector for a candidate, they want a bi-lingual woman who isn’t too old, is well-versed in technology and culture, is willing to give up a pretty lucrative and interesting private sector career to perhaps move her family to Ottawa to take over a CRTC that has been beset by internal strife and, because the federal government says it will overhaul the Telecom and Broadcasting Acts, is about to have the laws which govern it changed.
If you doubt the internal strife bit, one only has to turn to former commissioner Timothy Denton’s blog. In a post this week which largely praised CRTC policy under Blais, he lambasted the chairman’s skills as a CEO. “As to his management of his colleagues, he left some smoldering ruins where collegial relations once prevailed. Mr. Blais showed an inability to conceive of the equality of commissioners or to tolerate the expression of differing views, or perhaps even views that were consistent with his but spoken by someone else,” wrote Denton, adding his successor will have to repair a “damaged Commission.”
Minister Joly is under quite a bit of fire of late, too, from other sides. Her handling of the attempted appointment of Madeleine Meilleur as Official Languages Commissioner raised opposition hackles because it seemed to go against the “rigorous” and “transparent” new approach. The blowback was so severe Mme Meilleur removed herself from consideration. This may make Joly and her government gun shy when it comes to appointments and so the thinking is that any and all may be delayed at least until after Parliament’s summer break.
The minister has also faced harsh criticism this week in the House of Commons for meeting with Google six times to talk about “broadcasting” according to the Lobbyist Registry, each time with her chief of staff Leslie Church, who is a former Google staffer.
The Minister’s office response to this, however, is somewhat curious. Her spokesman told Global News: “We have said it many times, creative industries are going through a period of disruption brought on by the digital shift… Minister Joly has met with all major digital platforms as part of our review of Canadian content in the digital age. Ms. Church’s expertise and broad knowledge of the digital landscape is essential in our assessment of how to best support the sector during this transition. She has been fully transparent about her former employment with Google Canada, including with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.”
Fantastic. Apparently four of these meetings were when Minister Joly went to California for a Silicon Valley tour with her staff. That’s a good thing, really. That’s where the global digital leaders are and she should go there and learn. However, has she been to Corus Entertainment’s HQ – where they create animated kids shows for a global, digital audience? Nope. How about a visit to Bell Media’s unique Much Digital Studios? Nope again. A hands-on look at state of the art 4K production trucks owned by Rogers and Bell to produce hockey and baseball? Still nope. Pelmorex’s Oakville headquarters – where they’re producing all sorts of innovative new weather products for a global audience – while also producing two 24/7 TV channels? You get the picture.
Why is it that the Minister will say visits to Google and its ilk are simply signs of being innovative, but she has yet to see, in the same way, how Canadian media companies are innovating right here. Besides, imagine the much louder hue and cry if the Minister had a senior former Bell Canada staffer and met with Bell Media as often as she met with Google?
This is a government that, closing in on two years in power, talks a lot, has a ton of “discussions” and says it’s trying to be nice and transparent, but for goodness sakes, notice the innovation going on in our own back yard – and make some decisions already.
