Report of the Independent Advisory Committee for Appointments to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors

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Report of the Independent Advisory Committee for Appointments to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors [PDF version - 272 KB]

Letter from the Chair

July 21, 2023

The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Canadian Heritage
15 Eddy Street, 12th floor
Gatineau, Quebec J8X 4B5

Dear Minister:

In accordance with the mandate of the Independent Advisory Committee for Appointments to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors, we hereby present the final report on the 2022-2023 part-time director process. This report includes information on the Committee's mandate, statistics on applications received, and recommendations for improving the process.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve on the Committee.

Charles Décarie
Chair, Independent Advisory Committee for Appointments to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors

CC: The members of the Independent Advisory Committee for Appointments to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors: Paul Andrew, Cameron Bailey, Françoise Enguehard, Jocelyn Formsma, Prem Gill, Michael Goldbloom, Lisa Raitt, Monique Simard, and Jeremy Torrie

Introduction

This report has been prepared in accordance with the terms of reference of the Advisory Committee for Appointments to the Board of Directors of CBC/Radio-Canada (Committee), which stipulates that:

Within three months after submitting the names of highly qualified candidates to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Advisory Committee must provide a report, in both official languages, to the Minister that contains information on the process, including on the execution of the terms of reference and statistics relating to the applications received.
In addition, the report may provide recommendations for improvements to the process.
The report must be made public.

This report includes information on the selection process, the execution of the Committee's mandate between December 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023, statistics on applications received, and members' recommendations for improving the process.

Creation of the Committee

The composition of the committee whose mandate was to conduct a selection process for appointments by the Governor in Council to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors, in order to provide the Minister of Canadian Heritage with recommendations of highly qualified candidates for these appointments, was announced on November 30, 2022.

The ten-member committee, including a chairperson, was made up of experts in broadcasting, digital technology and cultural sectors from across the country. Members were appointed by the Minister of Canadian Heritage for a six-month term.

In December 2022, committee members attended an orientation meeting to get acquainted with one another, discuss the current composition of the Board of Directors and learn more about the Governor-in-Council appointment process. They then met virtually on several occasions to evaluate candidacies, conduct interviews and discuss reference checks.

The committee was supported by a secretariat at the Department of Canadian Heritage and an executive search firm.

Candidate assessment process

Interested candidates were asked to submit their applications in response to the Notice of Opportunity for the position of Director between February 2 and March 3, 2023.

Committee members conducted a review of the applications submitted, considering evaluation criteria, demographics and professional background. Following the evaluation of more than 273 applications received, 37 applications were retained by the committee, and 17 virtual interviews were held between April 28 and May 9, 2023. Third-party reference checks were carried out for successful candidates.

Candidate statistics

Of the 273 applications, 101 people identified as women, 89 as members of visible minorities, 16 as Indigenous and 13 as members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community.

Applications were received from the following provinces and territories: 120 from Ontario, 58 from Quebec, 38 from British Columbia, 20 from Alberta, 10 from Saskatchewan, 7 from Manitoba, 7 from Nova Scotia, 4 from New Brunswick, 4 from Newfoundland, 3 from Nunavut and 2 from outside Canada.

Confidentiality and recommendation process

Committee members ensure the confidentiality of all information they receive in the course of their duties and have signed a confidentiality agreement as a condition of their appointment. As a result, Committee members will not disclose any information about candidates.

The members drew up a list of qualified candidates and forwarded to the Minister of Canadian Heritage a file containing the list of recommended candidates, in alphabetical order, i.e., without rank or ranking. The file also included a brief biographical summary of each candidate to highlight the merits of those recommended, as well as the nomination documents provided by the candidates.

Committee comments and recommendations

Members felt that various information sessions on the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors, the Governor-in-Council appointment process and bias in the evaluation of candidates were useful.

Recommendation #1

Continue to focus on preparing and sharing relevant information with members.

The simultaneous interpretation service enabled Committee members and selected candidates to participate fully in discussions in the official language of their choice, throughout the process.

Recommendation #2

Ensure that all documents are prepared in both official languages and provide simultaneous interpretation services for meetings and interviews.

Throughout the selection process, Committee members received comments from various people who care about the future of CBC/Radio-Canada regarding the length and complexity of the process. Indeed, selection processes can take several months to complete, and members fear that their recommendations will no longer be relevant if delays are unduly prolonged.

Recommendation #3

Provide more information about intentions in relation to appointments and conduct certain steps upstream so that members can focus on the ultimate evaluation of certain candidates deemed promising, and only when the need is imminent.

Conclusion

Committee members are delighted to have had the opportunity to participate in this initiative.

Annexes

©His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Canadian Heritage, 2023
Catalogue number: CH44-181/2023E-PDF
ISBN: 978-0-660-67737-8

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Date modified:: 2023-09-18

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