Cronyism is so rife in Ottawa, most government jobs are never publicly posted, says Blacklock’s Reporter..The Public Service Commission (PSC) complained of cronyism by federal managers..The PSC said the majority of vacancies for outside hiring are never advertised..“Non-advertised appointments for external hiring activities, promotions and acting appointments increased to 60% in 2020,” the commission wrote in its annual report tabled in Parliament..The rate was 30% in 2016..The commission complained even when job vacancies were posted for all Canadians to see because hiring reviews typically took months..Commissioners called it a “striking trend.”.“The 2020 median staff time for advertised external processes increased 47 days to 250 calendar days or close to 8.5 months,” wrote the PSC..Average waits had worsened from the 154 days reported in 2016 when the PSC issued a memo that called for reforms..“We lose many good candidates along the way,” Patrick Borbey, president of the PSC, testified at 2018 hearings of the Commons government operations committee..“I do want to talk about nepotism. That is certainly something we are on the lookout for at the commission and that we will investigate if there are allegations, if there is evidence there’s been nepotism in a selection process.”.No government-wide data has been compiled on the extent of cronyism in federal hiring, but a 2020 Staffing And Non-Partisanship Survey found widespread complaints that managers hired friends and family..A majority told researchers that “appointments depend on who you know.”.A similar 2018 Staffing And Non-Partisanship Survey found a majority of 101,892 employees questioned agreed the public service was rife with cronyism..Asked, “To what extent do appointments for positions in your work units depend on who you know?” 54% agreed..The survey also found only 14% of respondents strongly agreed promotions were fair. Only 16% agreed “people hired in my work unit can do the job,”and 31% said people hired by managers appeared to be incompetent..Nepotism is a firing offence..The Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board in numerous rulings upheld dismissal of managers who favoured family members in hiring..An $87,000-a year manager in the Department of Employment in 2017 was fired after recommending her daughter for a job that was never publicly posted, then lying about the relationship when caught..A Canadian Food Inspection Agency manager in 2015 was fired for hiring his brother-in law..And in 2013 the Immigration and Refugee Board fired a director who tried to hire her son and her cleaning women.
