A friend of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has been hired by the Department of Finance as a senior adviser, records show. Ms. Freeland said the appointment had nothing to do with her.
“In the exercise of my official duties as Minister of Finance, I recused myself on August 3 from participating in any discussion or decision regarding the department’s process to hire a new senior advisor in the Office of the Deputy Minister,” Ms. Freeland wrote in an ethics filing revealed Aug. 17.
Ms. Freeland said her intention was to “avoid any appearance of preferential treatment or any opportunity to further the private interest of a family friend,” according to Blacklock’s Reporter. The name of the successful candidate has not been shared.
Ms. Freeland’s ethics filing was a requirement of the Conflict of Interest Act. The filing with the Office of Ethics Commissioner did not say how many other candidates were considered for the position.
The expulsion of former MP Yasmin Ratansi from the 2020 Liberal caucus was instigated by allegations of nepotism. Ms. Ratansi was serving as the representative for the Don Valley East constituency in Ontario at the time. Ms. Ratansi had failed to disclose that her sister had been employed as a constituency assistant for eight years.
Ms. Ratansi did not seek reelection in 2021. “The past many months have, to say the least, been difficult for me and my family,” the MP said in her departing speech to Parliament.
“The vast majority of all MPs follow those rules,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier told reporters.
“They are extremely honourable people who should be recognized for their sacrifices and dedication to their communities. It is disappointing when events like this crop up, which tarnish the reputation of all 338 MPs.”
Nepotism is still grounds for dismissal within the public service.
Patrick Borbey, then-president of the Public Service Commission, when testifying at hearings of the Commons government operations committee in 2018, said he wanted 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,” Mr. Borbey said.
A 2021 Staffing and Non-Partisanship Survey by the Public Service Commission found 53 percent of federal employees “believe appointments depend on who you know.”
When asked if “staffing activities are carried out in a transparent way,” 31 percent of employees surveyed said they thought they were not.
The same survey in 2020 also uncovered widespread complaints that managers hired friends and family, and that “appointments depend on who you know.” According to the questionnaire that year, 31 percent of respondents said they thought candidates favoured by managers appeared incompetent.
