Transitional Process Report

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The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A2

March 31, 2016

Dear Prime Minister,

Pursuant to our Terms of Reference, the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments submits to you this report about the transitional process for providing recommendations for appointments to the Senate of Canada. We thank you for your confidence and for the opportunity to serve such an important process.

Respectfully,

Huguette Labelle
Chair

Federal members:

• Daniel Jutras
• Indira Samarasekera

Manitoba members:

• Heather Bishop
• Susan Lewis

Ontario members:

• Dawn Lavell Harvard
• Murray Segal

Quebec members:

• Sylvie Bernier
• Yves Lamontagne

1. Introduction

This report has been prepared pursuant to paragraph 13 of the Terms of Reference of the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments (Advisory Board) which states:

This is the first report of the Advisory Board and covers the “transitional process” described in the Terms of Reference.

2. Establishment of the Advisory Board and the Transitional Process

The Advisory Board is an independent and non-partisan body whose mandate is to provide non-binding merit-based recommendations to the Prime Minister on Senate nominations.

The Advisory Board was established by the Governor in Council (GIC) on January 19, 2016 (Order in Council PC 2016-0011). The Terms of Reference for the Advisory Board were also approved by the GIC and made public through the same Order in Council. Members of the Advisory Board are appointed pursuant to paragraph 127.1(1)(c) of the Public Service Employment Act as special advisers to the Prime Minister.

The Minister of Democratic Institutions (the Minister) announced the establishment of the Advisory Board and the appointment of the members on January 19, 2016 by issuing a News Release (see Annex A for News Release, biographical notes on members and Terms of Reference).

The Advisory Board is to consist of: three permanent federal members, one of which is to be appointed as Chairperson, and two ad hoc members chosen from each of the provinces where a vacancy is to be filled. The federal members are to participate in deliberations related to all vacancies, whereas the ad hoc members are to participate in deliberations related to vacancies in their respective province. The initial appointment duration of the federal members varied to allow the staggering of terms (30 months for Chairperson, 24 months for one member and 18 months for the other). Ad hoc members were appointed for a period of one year. Members’ terms can be renewed. For the transitional process, provinces were consulted on provincial members of the Advisory Board.

The Terms of Reference defined the transitional process as the “initial recommendations to be made by the Advisory Board in early 2016 for the appointment of five Senators in order to fill two vacancies in Ontario, one in Quebec and two in Manitoba.” The Prime Minister exercised his prerogative in recommending the appointment of a higher number of Senators than had been originally planned.

Subsequent to the transitional process, an open application process is to be established for individuals to apply for appointment to the Senate (permanent process).

3. Meetings of the Advisory Board

We held three in-person meetings in Ottawa during the transitional process, as well as numerous teleconferences. The first in-person meeting served to orient members to their role and mandate, to provide information on the Senate (composition, demographics, etc), and to discuss the parameters of the transitional process. Subsequent meetings were held to discuss issues, to provide updates on the status of activities, to prepare this report, and to get ready for the next phase. The use of teleconferences between in-person meetings allowed the members to interact regularly in a cost-efficient manner.

As noted in the Terms of Reference, the Advisory Board is supported by the Privy Council Office (PCO) and the head of the Senior Personnel Secretariat (or his/her delegate) acts as the ex officio secretary to the Advisory Board. For the transitional process, the Assistant Secretary to Cabinet (Senior Personnel) fulfilled this role.

4. Communications, Media and Public Affairs

To support the appointment of Senators to the provinces with most vacancies as quickly as possible, the transitional process had a short timeline. Therefore, we undertook our work quickly to define the approach for the transitional process during our first meeting, held on January 21, 2016. We issued a News Release (see Annex B) on January 29, 2016 which announced the launch of the transitional process (Phase 1).

On the same date, we launched a webpage that provided information on the Advisory Board, its purpose/mandate, as well as the Phase 1 approach to nominate candidates for the Senate. The news release and webpage also served to inform Canadians that the nomination process was open to all organizations interested in recommending a worthy candidate for the Senate.

The creation of the Advisory Board and the launch of Phase 1 generated some media interest. Coverage of the Advisory Board over the period was moderate. Coverage was highest at the end of January, shortly following the announcement of the board. Media attention included newspaper articles (print and online) as well as radio interviews.

Finally, pursuant to Standing Orders 110 and 111 of the House of Commons, and a motion adopted on February 18, 2016, the three federal members of the Advisory Board were invited to appear before the Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC) so the members of the committee could study the credentials of the Order in Council appointments. Huguette Labelle appeared on February 4, 2016, Daniel Jutras on February 25, 2016, and Indira Samarasekera on March 8, 2016.

5. Consultations and Outreach

Paragraph 8 of the Terms of Reference directed us to undertake consultations during the transitional process to support the appointment of Senators for Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. We worked quickly to set an approach to seek the support of organizations in identifying exceptional candidates for the Senate in each of the three provinces where vacancies are to be filled. We undertook significant engagement and outreach with more than 400 national, provincial and local organizations, both rural and urban, which represented Indigenous peoples, women and LGBTQ groups, linguistic, minority and ethnic communities, service groups, educational and academic organizations, as well as groups representing labour and business interests. A full list of the organizations that received a direct email communication from the Advisory Board is included at Annex C. Furthermore, Board members had extensive individual contact with a broad spectrum of individuals and organizations. The vast majority of this engagement and outreach was undertaken in the first week following the launch of the nomination and application process.

These consultations were undertaken to ensure that a diverse slate of individuals, with a variety of backgrounds, skills, knowledge and experience that could contribute to a well-functioning Senate, were nominated for the consideration of the Advisory Board. Approaching organizations with a large member base, as well as those that serve as umbrella groups, allowed a multiplier effect, as many of these associations disseminated the information broadly within their networks and amongst their members. When contacted, organizations seemed genuinely pleased to be included in this concrete demonstration of a new, non-partisan, merit-based process to put forward names of candidates to be considered for Senate appointments.

In addition to these significant efforts to reach a variety of organizations, the Board’s webpage and news release served to complement direct outreach efforts. We invited any organization to participate in the nomination process through information disseminated on our webpage. This formal and informal outreach allowed information about the process to be disseminated in manner which supported both top-down and bottom-up approaches for nominations. The outcome of the engagement proved successful. Furthermore, many of the organizations and individuals communicated their anticipation about the permanent phase and open application process.

6. Nominations and applications

In the first phase, the Board established a requirement that candidates be nominated by an organization to be considered for appointment. The nomination process supported the broad dissemination of our mandate and assisted in the screening of applicants as the nomination forms helped to validate the merits of candidates.

The individual being nominated also had to complete and submit an application form with the required supporting documentation, through which they provided information to confirm their constitutional eligibility, as well as to help us assess merit, per the criteria defined by the Government (see Annex D for Constitutional Requirements and Merit-Based Criteria). Finally, three (3) reference letters were required to attest to the validity of information contained in the application package, as well as the character and suitability of the individual for a position in the Senate.

The application/nomination period was open from January 29, 2016 to February 15, 2016. Application/nomination information was received by email and processed by staff at the Privy Council Office. More than 150 requests for information/inquiries were received from Canadians about the process during this time.

A total of 284 candidacies were received during the application and nomination period and all were considered by the Advisory Board. Here are a few key facts about the number of candidacies:

Additional details and analysis on the candidacies can be found in Annex E.

Given the short timelines for the transitional phase, the application period was made as long as possible, while also allowing a quick turnaround for the processing of candidate information and a suitable review of candidacies, all in compliance with the timeline established by the government. Templates were provided to support individuals in completing their applications and organizations in completing their nominations.

We were very pleased with the number of candidacies, as well as with the high calibre of individuals who were nominated. We have learned that outreach was extremely important and will identify any additional outreach activities that are required moving forward – to target a broad spectrum of communities. Furthermore, the Board will review the documentation requirements in order to both ensure a straightforward format and to provide an effective basis for the Board to evaluate candidates.

7. Review process

All members performed a complete and thorough review of all candidates submitted for their consideration within the accelerated timeline.

The review process first involved an individual examination of candidacies by Advisory Board members. The federal members reviewed all 284 candidacies, while provincial members reviewed the candidacies from only the province they represented. A merit-based review was completed to assess the suitability of each of the recommended candidates, in accordance with the Terms of Reference, and members identified a list of priority candidates which they deemed best met the criteria. We used the nominations, reference letters, resumes/biographies, and personal statements as the basis for our assessment.

Each provincial Advisory Board (federal and ad hoc members from that province) then met to discuss their “shortlists” and to deliberate on the recommendations to the Prime Minister. In discussing their individual assessments, members noted an interesting level of consistency in assessments and in highly-rated candidates. No interviews were conducted as part of the transitional process.

We applied fairly and with consistency the criteria provided by the Prime Minister for Senate appointments in assessing potential candidates against the qualifications, including those set out in the Constitution Act, 1867. Decisions were achieved using a consensus approach. Each committee carefully considered a number of additional key factors in making its recommendations, such as gender, diversity, language, age, civic involvement and professional background, as well as the candidate’s ability to contribute to the work of the Senate in a non-partisan fashion. The typical due diligence required for candidates seeking public office was undertaken on the proposed list of candidates to confirm their suitability.

8. Recommendation process

In accordance with the Terms of Reference, the Prime Minister set a time period for the production of recommendations when the Advisory Board was convened. For the transitional process, the Prime Minister asked the Advisory Board to provide recommendations by February 25, 2016. This timeframe was respected.

We established a list of five qualified candidates for each vacancy and provided our advice to the Prime Minister, in accordance with the Terms of Reference. Recommended candidates were not prioritized; the proposed candidates were listed in alphabetical order. The advice included a short synopsis detailing the merits of each recommended candidate, as well as more detailed information from their candidacy submission.

Additional due diligence was undertaken to confirm candidates’ ability to meet constitutional requirements before appointment to the Senate.

After submitting our recommendations to the Prime Minister, we appreciated the opportunity to participate in a telephone meeting with him. We also were very pleased that the Prime Minister made his recommendations from the list of candidates that we had provided to him.

9. Costs

The costs of Phase 1 relate primarily to travel and personnel (administrative support). Additional costs were minimized as the transitional process was short-term in nature and, as such, could rely heavily on existing support and infrastructure. The permanent process will require some investments for elements such as Information Technology and dedicated secretariat resources that will be detailed in future reports.

Given that the Advisory Board was only constituted in mid-January and this report is being issued in March, expenses and operational costs are still being received and tabulated. However, it is estimated that the expenditures related to the Advisory Board for the transitional process will be approximately $170,000. This includes travel expenditures related to the Board’s work and per diems (within the range of $550 - $650 for the Chairperson and $375 - $450 for the other members), totaling in the range of $70,000 - $80,000, and the remainder incurred by the Privy Council Office to support the Advisory Board (including salaries and translation costs for the transitional phase). The Advisory Board’s next report will provide the final costs relating to the transitional process. It is recognized that some costs incurred during the transitional period will pertain to the preparations and planning for the permanent process.

10. Post-announcement

Letters are being issued to all candidates who were not appointed to the Senate to thank them for their participation in this initial process. Candidates will be welcome to communicate their interest in being considered under the permanent process to be launched later in 2016, as all three provinces included in the transitional process have more vacancies to be filled.

We would also like to express our appreciation to the organizations that nominated candidates and look forward to their continued engagement in this important undertaking.

11. Confidentiality

In keeping with the Terms of Reference, the conduct of the Advisory Board’s activities is done under strict confidentiality. Information that is brought before the members must be held in confidence and information on candidacies cannot be disclosed, pursuant to the provisions of the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act. Therefore, the Advisory Board will not share publicly any information pertaining to candidates, nor will it disclose any information about the nominating organizations as these are related to the individual candidacies and subject to the same protection provisions.

12. Conclusion and Next Steps

The Board appreciates the opportunity to serve its country on such an important initiative and looks forward to continuing its work in providing independent advice to the Prime Minister as part of the permanent process to be launched later this spring.

Annex A - Information on the Establishment of the Advisory Board

Minister of Democratic Institutions Announces Establishment of the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments

Ottawa, Ontario, January 19, 2016 - The Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister of Democratic Institutions, today announced the establishment of the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments (Advisory Board).

The Advisory Board will be an independent and non-partisan body whose mandate is to provide the Prime Minister with merit-based recommendations on Senate nominations.

The Board will be chaired by Ms. Huguette Labelle, Emeritus Governor of the University of Ottawa, a Companion of the Order of Canada, and a recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada.

The following members are being appointed to the Advisory Board:

• Dr. Indira Samarasekera as Federal Member – served as the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Alberta.
  
• Professor Daniel Jutras as Federal Member – Dean of Law, Full Professor, Wainwright Chair in Civil Law at the Faculty of Law, McGill University.
  
• Mr. Murray Segal as provincial member for Ontario – former Ontario Deputy Attorney General and Ontario Deputy Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs.
  
• Dr. Dawn Lavell Harvard as provincial member for Ontario – President of the Native Women’s Association of Canada.
  
• Ms. Sylvie Bernier as provincial member for Quebec – Olympic gold medalist, media contributor and Healthy Lifestyle Ambassador.
  
• Dr. Yves Lamontagne as provincial member for Quebec – an accomplished psychiatrist and leading figure in the field of medicine.
  
• Ms. Susan Lewis as provincial member for Manitoba – worked for over 40 years with the United Way of Winnipeg, including as President from 1985 to 2014.
  
• Ms. Heather Bishop as provincial member for Manitoba – an accomplished musician/singer-songwriter, independent recording artist, and entrepreneur.

The establishment of the Advisory Board is the first step in the Government’s comprehensive plan to create a new and non-partisan process to provide the Prime Minister with non-binding recommendations on Senate appointments. The Board will undertake broad consultations within the three provinces with the greatest number of vacancies in the Senate. It is hoped that five vacancies (two in Manitoba, two in Ontario and one in Quebec) will be filled by early 2016.

The permanent process will be established later in 2016 and will include an application process open to all Canadians. The Advisory Board will be guided by public, merit-based criteria, in order to identify Canadians who would make a significant contribution to the work of the Senate – with the end goal of ensuring a high standard of integrity, collaboration, and non-partisanship in the Senate.

Quotes

“The Government is acting rapidly to reform the Senate. I am very pleased to establish this important new Advisory Board, and it is truly inspiring that such eminent Canadians have agreed to serve on it. The new, independent process will help inject a new spirit of non-partisanship into the Senate. I believe that this new process will immediately begin to restore the confidence of Canadians in an institution that plays an essential role in our parliamentary system.”
--Hon. Maryam Monsef, Minister of Democratic Institutions

Quick Facts

• There are currently 22 vacancies in the Senate. Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba have the largest number of vacancies.
  
• Under the Constitution, the Governor General appoints individuals to the Senate. By convention, Senators are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Related Products

• Biographical notes on the Members of the Advisory Board
• Terms of Reference for the Advisory Board
• Frequently Asked Questions

For further information on the Advisory Board and the new process to advise on Senate appointments, please refer to the News Release and Backgrounder (with “Annex: Qualifications and Merit-Based Assessment Criteria”), released on December 3, 2015.

Biographical notes on the Members of the Advisory Board

Huguette Labelle

Huguette Labelle holds a PhD (education) degree from the University of Ottawa, has honorary degrees from twelve Canadian universities, and from the University of Notre Dame, United States. She is a Companion of the Order of Canada. In addition, she is a recipient of the Order of Ontario, the Vanier Medal of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada, the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada, the McGill University Management Achievement Award and the Francophonie’s Ordre de la Pléiade.

Ms. Labelle is Emeritus Governor of the University of Ottawa, and was Chancellor of the University of Ottawa from 1994 to 2012. She is currently Chair of the Corporate Reporting Dialogue, Vice-Chair of the Rideau Hall Foundation Board, Vice-Chair of the International Senior Advisory Board of the International Anti-Corruption Academy, member of the Advisory Group to the Asian Development Bank on Climate Change and Sustainable Development, member of the Executive Board of the Africa Capacity Building Foundation, member of the Board of the Global Centre for Pluralism, Board member of Global Financial Integrity, Board member of the Aga Khan Museum, member of the Advisory Committee of the Order of Ontario and Chair of the Selection Committee for Master's Scholarships on Sustainable Energy Development. Ms. Labelle is also a member of the Advisory Group to the Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Integrity and Anti-Corruption, the University of Ottawa President’s International Advisory Board, and the University of Ottawa Campaign Cabinet. She is also a former Chair of Transparency International, as well as a former Board member of UN Global Compact.

Ms. Labelle also served for a period of nineteen years as Deputy Minister of different Canadian Government departments including Secretary of State, Transport Canada, the Public Service Commission and the Canadian International Development Agency.

Indira Samarasekera

Indira Samarasekera served as the 12th President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Alberta, from 2005 to 2015. She also served as Vice-President Research at the University of British Columbia from 2000 to 2005. She is currently a Senior Advisor for Bennet Jones LLP and serves on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Nova Scotia, and Magna International. She serves on the boards of the Asia-Pacific Foundation, the Rideau Hall Foundation, the Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics and the selection panel for Canada’s Outstanding CEO of the Year. She is also a Distinguished Fellow in Residence at the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia.

Dr. Samarasekera is internationally recognized as one of Canada’s leading metallurgical engineers for her groundbreaking work on process engineering of materials, especially steel processing. She held the Dofasco Chair in Advanced Steel Processing at the University of British Columbia. She has consulted widely for industry worldwide leading to the implementation of her research discoveries.

Dr. Samarasekera has also devoted her career to advancing innovation in higher education and the private sector, providing national and international leadership through invited lectures and participation on national and international boards and councils.

She was awarded the Order of Canada in 2002 for outstanding contributions to steel process engineering. In 2014, she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in the United States, the profession’s highest honour. As a Hays Fulbright Scholar, she earned an MSc from the University of California in 1976. In 1980, she was granted a PhD in metallurgical engineering from the University of British Columbia.

Daniel Jutras

Daniel Jutras joined the Faculty of Law, McGill University in 1985 after clerking with Chief Justice Antonio Lamer at the Supreme Court of Canada. He has been the Dean of the Faculty of Law since March 2010, after serving briefly as interim Dean after June 2009. Professor Jutras became as Associate Professor in 1991, and was promoted to the rank of Full Professor in 2001. Since 2011, he has held the Arnold Wainwright Chair in Civil Law. He is a former Director of the Institute of Comparative Law and has served as Associate Dean (Admissions and Placement), and Associate Dean (Academic) in the Faculty of Law.

From 2002 to 2004, Professor Jutras was on leave from the Faculty of Law, and acted as personal secretary to the Chief Justice of Canada, the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, in the position of Executive Legal Officer of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Professor Jutras' teaching and research interests are in civil law and comparative law, and he now conducts research in the law of obligations from a comparative and pluralist perspective. He is also pursuing research projects on judicial institutions and civil procedure. Professor Jutras is frequently invited to speak on these issues before judicial and academic audiences in Canada and in Europe.

Professor Jutras is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and of Université de Montréal, where he received the Governor General’s Gold Medal. In 2013, Professor Jutras was appointed by the Supreme Court of Canada to serve as amicus curiæ in the Reference re Senate Reform. The same year, he was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. In 2014, the Barreau du Québec awarded Dean Jutras the Advocatus Emeritus (Ad. E.) distinction.

Murray Segal

Following a distinguished career with the Ontario government, including eight years as Deputy Attorney General of Ontario and former Deputy Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs, Murray Segal now practices as independent legal counsel and consultant in Toronto. He is also counsel to Henein Hutchinson LLP. His practice includes assisting the public and broader public service in improving the delivery of services.

Mr. Segal was the chief legal advisor to the Government of Ontario and advisor to Cabinet, the Attorney General, other Ministers, and Deputy Ministers. He oversaw all government litigation and is experienced in developing legislation.

Prior to his time as the Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Segal was the Chief Prosecutor for the Province of Ontario, leading the largest prosecution service in Canada.

Mr. Segal is certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the Law Society of Upper Canada and is the author of numerous legal publications including in the areas of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, disclosure, and procedure. He is also a frequent participant in continuing education programs.

Mr. Segal is co-chair of Ontario’s Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee, and he is also on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Mental Health Association of Toronto and on the Board of Trustees of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. In 2013, he was appointed as a member of the Ontario Review Board. In October, 2015 Mr. Segal released a Report to the Province of Nova Scotia on the justice system’s handling of the Rehtaeh Parsons matter.

Sylvie Bernier

A native of Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Sylvie Bernier won gold in 3-metre springboard diving at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. It was Canada’s first—and to date the only—gold medal in that event. She is also the first Canadian diver ever to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Following her athletic career, Ms. Bernier obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master’s in International Health Management. She has been working in radio and television for over 30 years.

She served as Canada’s Assistant Chef de Mission at the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin and 2012 in London. She also served as Chef de Mission at the Beijing 2008 Olympics Games.

A recipient of the Order of Quebec and the Order of Canada, Ms. Bernier has collaborated with numerous companies, including Investors Group, for many years. She works with Québec en forme as a Healthy Lifestyle Ambassador, as well as chairing two Quebec organizations promoting physically active lifestyles and healthy diets (i.e., the Table de concertation intersectorielle permanente spécifique au mode de vie physiquement actif and the Table québécoise sur la saine alimentation).

Ms. Bernier is the mother of three young adults and dreams that, someday, “eating better and moving more” will become the norm in our society.

Yves Lamontagne

President and CEO of the Collège des médecins du Québec from 1998 to October 2010, Dr. Yves Lamontagne first worked as a professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Montreal and as President of the Association des médecins psychiatres du Québec. He is the founder of the Fernand-Seguin Research Centre of the Louis-H. Lafontaine Hospital and founding Chair of the Mental Illness Foundation.

After completing his medical studies, he worked in Africa overseeing the Biafran children’s camps during that tragic war. Following that, he embarked on his psychiatric studies, which he completed at the Institute of Psychiatry in London.

The author of over 200 articles in Canadian, American and European medical journals, Dr. Lamontagne has also published 37 books and contributed 30 chapters to various collections. Over the years, he has had a career simultaneously combining research, teaching, communications and administration.

His work has earned him numerous awards and decorations both within Canada and in the United States, and he is a recipient of both the Order of Canada and the Order of Quebec. He was named Great Montrealer for 2003 in the social sector. Currently, Dr. Lamontagne is called upon as a consultant by various organizations and as a speaker within the health sector and for the general public.

Dawn Lavell Harvard

Dr. Dawn Lavell Harvard, PhD, was elected President of the Native Women’s Association of Canada at its 41st Annual General Assembly, held in July 2015 in Montreal, Quebec. She had been Interim President of the Native Women’s Association of Canada since February 2015 and was Vice-President for almost three years.

She is a proud member of the Wikwemikong First Nation, the first Aboriginal Trudeau Scholar, and has worked to advance the rights of Aboriginal women as the President of the Ontario Native Women's Association for 11 years.

Dr. Lavell Harvard is a full-time mother of three girls. She has followed in the footsteps of her mother Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, a noted advocate for Indigenous women’s rights. Since joining the Board of the Ontario Native Women’s Association as a youth director in 1994, Dr. Lavell Harvard has been working toward the empowerment of Aboriginal women and their families.

She was co-editor of the original volume on Indigenous Mothering entitled “Until Our Hearts Are on the Ground: Aboriginal Mothering, Oppression, Resistance and Rebirth” and has also recently released a new book, along with Kim Anderson, entitled “Mothers of the Nations.”

Susan Lewis

Susan Lewis worked for over 40 years in various roles with the United Way of Winnipeg, including as President and CEO from 1985 to 2014. She received United Way Centraide Canada’s Excellence Award, United Way’s highest honour.

Over the years, she has served on the boards and committees of a variety of charities and organizations, including: the Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Council, End Homelessness Winnipeg, the St-Boniface Hospital board, University of Manitoba Distinguished Alumni Selection Panel and the Senate Committee on Honorary Degrees.

Nationally she was a board member and Vice Chair of Imagine Canada from 2008 –2012 and continues to sit on the Advisory Council.

Ms. Lewis is a member of the Order of Manitoba and Order of Canada, and a recipient of the Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year Award and the Manitoba Museum Tribute Honouree and the University of Manitoba Distinguished Alumni Award.

Heather Bishop

Heather Bishop is an accomplished musician/singer-songwriter with 14 albums to her credit, along with numerous music industry awards. She is also a keynote speaker, social activist, visual artist, independent recording artist, educator, and entrepreneur who has been running her own music recording company for 40 years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a Fine Arts major from the University of Regina.

Ms. Bishop has served as Chair of the Advisory Council to the Order of Manitoba; Chair of the Manitoba Film Classification Board; Finance Chair and Director of the Manitoba Film & Sound Recording Development Corporation; and Board Chair, Finance Chair and Director of Manitoba Music, a community based non-profit industry association to promote and foster growth in the Manitoba sound recording industry. She has also dedicated her time to innumerable benefits and fundraisers in the community, as well as serving with the Manitoba Cultural Society of the Deaf.

Among her many honours, Ms. Bishop was awarded the Order of Canada in 2005, the Order of Manitoba in 2001, an Honourary Doctorate of Laws in 2011, a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, the Western Canadian Music Industry Builder Award in 2006, and the YM/YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in 1997.

In 2011 Ms. Bishop released her first book, an edition of her artwork entitled “My Face is a Map of My Time Here”. Her vision is of a socially just, environmentally sound, and spiritually fulfilling world for all.

Terms of Reference for the Advisory Board

Mandate

1 The Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments (“Advisory Board”) is an independent and non-partisan body whose mandate is to provide non-binding merit-based recommendations to the Prime Minister on Senate nominations.

Composition of the Advisory Board

1. 2 (1) Members of the Advisory Board are appointed pursuant to paragraph 127.1‍(1)‍(c) of the Public Service Employment Act as special advisers to the Prime Minister.
2. (2) The Advisory Board is to consist of
3. (a) three permanent federal members (“federal members”), one of which is to be appointed as Chairperson; and
4. (b) two ad hoc members chosen from each of the provinces or territories where a vacancy is to be filled (“provincial members”)‍.
5. (3) The federal members must participate in deliberations relating to all existing and anticipated Senate vacancies.
6. (4) The provincial members must participate only in deliberations relating to existing and anticipated Senate vacancies in their respective province or territory.

Length of Advisory Board Terms

1. 3 (1) The federal members of the Advisory Board are to be appointed for two-year terms. Provincial members are to be appointed for terms not exceeding one year.
2. (2) Despite subsection (1), the initial appointments of the federal members will vary in length in order to permit the staggering of terms, as follows:
3. (a) the term of the first Chairperson is 30 months;
4. (b) the terms of each of the first two other federal members are 24 months and 18 months respectively.
5. (3) The terms of Advisory Board members may be renewed.
6. (4) The Advisory Board is to be convened at the discretion and on the request of the Prime Minister who may establish, revise or extend any of the timelines set out in this mandate.

Support

4 The Advisory Board is to be supported by the Privy Council Office. The head of the Senior Personnel Secretariat, or his or her delegate, acts as an ex officio secretary to the Advisory Board.

Recommendations

5 In accordance with the terms of this mandate, the Advisory Board must provide to the Prime Minister for his consideration, within the time period set by the Prime Minister upon the convening of the Advisory Board, a list of five qualified candidates for each vacancy in the Senate with respect to each province or territory for which there is a vacancy or anticipated vacancy and for which the Advisory Board has been convened. The Prime Minister may take into consideration all of the qualified candidates with respect to all vacancies for that province or territory.

Recommendation Process

1. 6 The members of the Advisory Board must:
2. (a) at all times, observe the highest standards of impartiality, integrity and objectivity in their consideration of all potential candidates;
3. (b) meet at appropriate intervals to set out its agenda, assess candidates, and engage in deliberations;
4. (c) apply fairly and with consistency the criteria provided by the Prime Minister in assessing whether potential candidates meet the qualifications, including those set out in the Constitution Act, 1867, for Senate appointments;
5. (d) interview potential candidates, at the Advisory Board’s discretion, and verify any references provided by potential candidates;
6. (e) in establishing a list of qualified candidates, seek to support the Government of Canada’s intent to achieve gender balance and to ensure representation of Indigenous peoples and linguistic, minority and ethnic communities in the Senate; and
7. (f) comply with the Privacy Act, the Conflict of Interest Act, and the Ethical and Political Activity Guidelines for Public Office Holders.
8. 7 (1) The members of the Advisory Board must declare any direct or indirect personal interest or professional or business relationship in relation to any candidate if such an interest or relationship could reasonably be considered to represent an actual or perceived conflict of interest.
9. (2) The declaration set out in subsection (1) must include a statement as to any gifts or hospitality received by the member from the candidate.
10. (3) If such a declaration is made, the Advisory Board must decide, having regard to the nature of the relationship, if the member must withdraw from any deliberation about the candidate.
11. (4) If the Advisory Board decides that the member must withdraw from any deliberation in relation to a candidate, those deliberations are undertaken by the remaining members of the Advisory Board, provided the number of members is not less than three.

Consultations

1. 8 (1) In this mandate, “transitional process” means the initial recommendations to be made by the Advisory Board in early 2016 for the appointment of five Senators in order to fill two vacancies in Ontario, one in Quebec and two in Manitoba.
2. (2) Under the transitional process, the Advisory Board must undertake consultations, which could include groups which represent Indigenous peoples and linguistic, minority and ethnic communities, provincial, territorial and municipal organizations, labour organizations, community-based service groups, arts councils, and provincial or territorial chambers of commerce, in order to ensure that a diverse slate of individuals, with a variety of backgrounds, skills, knowledge and experience desirable for a well-functioning Senate are brought forward for the consideration of the Advisory Board.
3. 9 Subsequent to the transitional process, an open application process is to be established to allow Canadians to apply for appointment to the Senate.
4. 10 Advisory Board members may travel for the purpose of performing their functions, including for meeting with candidates and individuals or groups as part of their consultations.

Confidentiality

1. 11 (1) All personal information provided to, and deliberations of, the Advisory Board are confidential and must be treated in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act.
2. (2) Any records created or received by the Advisory Board members that are under the control or will be under the control of the Privy Council Office are subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.
3. (3) The members of the Advisory Board must maintain as confidential any information brought before them in the conduct of their work.
4. (4) Members of the Advisory Board must sign a confidentiality agreement as a precondition of their appointment.
5. 12 No candidate is to be named publicly without their prior written consent.

Reporting

1. 13 (1) Within three months after submitting the names of qualified candidates to the Prime Minister, under the transitional process and following each subsequent appointment process, the Advisory Board must provide a report, in both official languages, to the Prime Minister that contains information on the process, including on the execution of the terms of reference, the costs relating to the Advisory Board’s activities and statistics relating to the applications received.
2. (2) In addition, the report may provide recommendations for improvements to the process.
3. (3) The report must be made public.

Annex B – News Release from the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments

Consultations launched to seek nominations for Senate positions representing Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec

January 29, 2016 - Ottawa, Ontario - The Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments (Advisory Board) is pleased to announce the launch of consultations with Canadian organizations to identify exceptional individuals who could fill current vacancies in Senate positions for Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

The Advisory Board will engage in consultations with a wide range of organizations in Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec to ensure that candidates with a variety of backgrounds, skills, knowledge and experience have the opportunity to be nominated for vacant positions.

In this round of consultations, nominations for Senate candidates will be accepted until 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on February 15, 2016. The nomination process is two-fold. An organization must complete and submit a form nominating a potential candidate. The individual being nominated must complete and submit an application form with the required supporting documentation requested in that form. Application forms from individuals without a corresponding nomination from an organization will not be considered, but individuals will have an opportunity to apply once the permanent phase of the new Senate appointments process is launched later this spring.

The Advisory Board was created as part of a new and non-partisan process to provide the Prime Minister with non-binding recommendations on Senate appointments. It was established on January 19, 2016 and consists of three permanent federal members, including the Advisory Board’s Chair, and two members chosen from each province or territory for which a vacancy is to be filled.

Quick Facts:

• The nomination and application forms and related instructions can be found on the Advisory Board’s website.
  
• For Phase 1, the Advisory Board will engage in consultations with non-profit organizations, associations and institutions, groups such as gender-based, Indigenous peoples, linguistic, minority and ethnic communities, community service organizations, chambers of commerce, as well as professional, business, arts, environmental, labour, faith and sports organizations, and educational institutions such as universities and colleges.
  
• Members of the Advisory Board currently include federal members Huguette Labelle (Chair), Indira Samarasekera, Daniel Jutras, and provincial members Murray Segal and Dawn Lavell Harvard representing Ontario, Sylvie Bernier and Yves Lamontagne representing Quebec and, Susan Lewis and Heather Bishop representing Manitoba.

Backgrounder: Senate Appointment Process

Under the Constitution, the Governor General appoints individuals to the Senate. By convention, Senators are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments is an independent and non-partisan body whose mandate is to provide non-binding merit-based recommendations to the Prime Minister on Senate nominations.

As previously announced by the Minister of Democratic Institutions, the new Senate appointments process will be implemented in two phases.

In the transitional phase (Phase 1), five appointments will be made early in 2016 to improve the representation of the provinces with the most vacancies (i.e., Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec). These appointments will be based on the nominations submitted further to the Advisory Board’s consultations with a broad range of Canadian organizations. During Phase 1, individuals must be nominated by an organization in order to be eligible to apply.

A permanent process (Phase 2) will then be implemented to fill the remaining vacancies, and will include an application process open to all Canadians.

There are currently 22 vacancies in the Senate. Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec have the largest number of vacancies.

Annex C – Outreach: list of organizations

Building on the guidance for the transitional process included in the Terms of Reference, the Board chose to undertake broad-based outreach efforts to communicate information about the nomination and application process for this first round of its recommendations for Senate appointments. The list below was developed by the Board immediately before the launch of the process and only includes those organizations that received an official e-mail communication from the Board inviting nominations and applications. Additional outreach was undertaken by individual members through both direct and indirect communication approaches, such as e-mail, social media and in-person contact.

Organization name (in language submitted by Advisory Board member)

Annex D – Qualifications and Merit-Based Assessment Criteria

Age

A nominee must be a minimum of 30 years of age and be less than 75 years of age.

Citizenship

A nominee must be a citizen of Canada.

Net Worth in Real and Personal Property

A nominee must own property with a net value of $4,000 in the province for which he or she is appointed, and have an overall net worth of $4,000 in real and personal property.

In the case of Quebec, a nominee must have his or her real property qualification in the electoral division for which he or she is appointed, or be resident in that electoral division.

• Senators from Quebec must represent one of 24 electoral divisions.

Residency

A nominee must be a resident of the province for which he or she is appointed.

• A nominee must have his or her place of permanent residence in the province or territory of vacancy at the time of application and appointment. The permanent residence of a nominee is where the person is ordinarily present and has made his or her home for a minimum period of two years leading up to the application. The nominee must provide documentation of residence in the province or territory.
  
• Despite rule 1, an exception to the two-year requirement may be made in a case where a nominee is temporarily absent from the province or territory of vacancy for reasons of employment or education but can provide satisfactory proof he or she intends to return to his or her permanent residence in the province or territory of vacancy.

Gender, Indigenous and Minority Balance

Nominees will be considered with a view to achieving gender balance in the Senate. Priority consideration will be given to nominees who represent Indigenous peoples and linguistic, minority and ethnic communities, with a view to ensuring representation of those communities in the Senate consistent with the Senate’s role in minority representation.

Non-Partisanship

Nominees will be asked to demonstrate to the Advisory Board that they have the ability to bring a perspective and contribution to the work of the Senate that is independent and non-partisan. They will also have to disclose any political involvement and activities. Past political activities would not disqualify a nominee.

Knowledge Requirement

Nominees must demonstrate a solid knowledge of the legislative process and Canada’s Constitution, including the role of the Senate as an independent and complementary body of sober second thought, regional representation and minority representation.

Personal Qualities

Nominees must demonstrate outstanding personal qualities, including adhering to the principles and standards of public life, ethics, and integrity.

Nominees must demonstrate an ability to make an effective and significant contribution to the work of the Senate, not only in their chosen profession or area of expertise, but the wide range of other issues that come before the Senate.

Qualifications Related to the Role of the Senate

A nominee must demonstrate one of the following criteria:

• a high level of experience, developed over many years, in the legislative process and public service at the federal or provincial/territorial level; and/or,
  
• a lengthy and recognized record of service to one’s community, which could include one’s Indigenous, ethnic or linguistic community; and/or,
  
• recognized leadership and an outstanding record of achievement in the nominee’s profession or chosen field of expertise.

Asset Qualifications

Bilingualism: fluency in both official languages will be considered an asset.

Annex E - Statistics on Candidacies for the Transitional Phase

  

Demographic and diversity information (excluding gender) was optional and was provided on a voluntary basis by candidates. Key facts (based on 2011 Census data***):

• Gender and Persons with Disabilities representation is consistent with Canadian workforce population
• Indigenous representation is above Canadian workforce population (10% vs 3.5%)
• Visible Minorities representation is slightly below Canadian workforce population (16% vs 18%)
• French as a first Official Language is slightly higher than Canadian population representation (26% vs 23%)

* All candidates self-identified as either female or male
** A small number of candidates provided additional diversity information (for example sexual orientation) within the narrative of their applications and a limited number self-identified as part of cultural, linguistic or other communities. Aggregate data is not available.
*** http://officiallanguages.gc.ca/en/statistics/province-territory & https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/labour-standards/reports/employment-equity-data-report/tables/table03.html

  

Key facts (based on 2011 Census data):

• Female representation is above Manitoba workforce population (55% vs 48%)
• Indigenous representation is well above Manitoba workforce population (22% vs 12%)
• Visible Minorities representation is slightly below Manitoba workforce population (10% vs 13%)
• Persons with Disabilities representation is consistent with Manitoba population 15-64 yrs of age
• French as a first Official Language is much higher than Manitoba representation (22% vs 3.5%)

  

Key facts (based on 2011 Census data):

• Gender representation is consistent with Ontario workforce population
• Indigenous representation is above Ontario workforce population (8% vs 2%)
• Visible Minorities representation is below Ontario workforce population (19% vs 24%)
• Persons with Disabilities representation is below Ontario population 15-64 yrs of age (3% vs 5.5%)
• French as a first Official Language is much higher than Ontario representation (15% vs 4.3%)

  

Key facts (based on 2011 Census data):

• Female representation is below Quebec workforce population (41% vs 48%)
• Indigenous representation is above Quebec workforce population (7% vs 2%)
• Visible Minorities representation is below Quebec workforce population (7% vs 10%)
• Persons with Disabilities representation is above Quebec population 15-64 yrs of age (10% vs 3%)
• English as a first Official Language is slightly below Quebec representation (11% vs 13.5%)