B.C.’s new budget does away with the Independent Office of the Merit Commissioner, a legislative oversight body meant to prevent the governing party from appointing political cronies to positions of power in the public service.
Finance Minister Brenda Bailey justified the decision by arguing that the commissioner hadn’t found any impropriety in recent audits, so this oversight authority ought to be given to the public service itself.
“I think what’s important to understand is that last year, the Merit Commissioner did a review of 276 cases and found zero examples of political patronage,” she told reporters at the legislature on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
Bailey said the change was made as part of an efficiency review, adding that the merit office has “completed its work.”
Interim B.C. Conservative Leader Trevor Halford does not see it that way.
“This is an independent officer that they’re trying to silence,” he said. “I think it’s very concerning to the public.”
B.C.’s Merit Commissioner was created in 2001 and made an independent office of the legislature in 2005. B.C. is the only provincial jurisdiction to have this. The commissioner has the power to conduct audits of hires, reviews at the request of unsuccessful hires and examinations of the processes used to carry out just cause dismissals.
Dave McCoy is the current merit commissioner, serving a three-year term that ends on March 10. He was unavailable to comment on Wednesday.
His office only became aware of the changes on Tuesday, and is “currently studying their implications.”
The elimination of the office was not announced publicly, nor was it explicitly mentioned in the budget and fiscal plan released on Tuesday, Feb. 17. It became known only after the actual budget legislation was introduced, with a few lines dedicated to the change.
This has Halford alarmed.
“For that to be kind of hidden in the budget shows me that this is something that they definitely want to hide from,” he said.
Paul Finch, president of the B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU), said that the union was not consulted on the change and opposes it. The BCGEU represents nearly 35,000 public service workers.
Finch issued a news release addressing the proposed change, saying the role of merit commissioner would be brought under the oversight of the deputy minister in charge of the public service, the same agency responsible for hiring.
“You cannot effectively oversee yourself,” Finch said. “Independent review exists for a reason: to ensure accountability, maintain public confidence, and protect from political or internal interference.”
The change does not become official until the legislature passes the budget. Finch hopes Bailey will reconsider before then.