Senator Ringuette was pleased yesterday when her bill S-201, one that intends to eliminate geographic criteria as a factor for eligibility in appointment processes and to also ensure that appointments to, and from within the public service are free from bureaucratic patronage, passed third reading in the Senate. It was sent to the House of Commons where Charles Hubbard, the Member of Parliament for Miramichi New Brunswick, will be the sponsor of the bill.
“I believe that all Canadians, in any province, and if qualified, should have equal access to all Public Service jobs because they have the right to earn a living. The current selection process is unfair and limits the access of all Canadians to jobs in the Public Service” said Senator Ringuette.
Presently, only about 55% of Public Service jobs use the national area of selection, which opens them to the public. Senator Ringuette believes that all jobs should be open to the public and that Canadians must have the right and should have the chance to apply for a job in their Public Service no matter what region of the country they live in and no matter where the job is located.
“We are all aware that the current government is advocating transparency and accessibility, so one would hope that they would like to incorporate these values into the recruitment procedures for jobs in the public service. Canadians around the country have been waiting long enough for this to change and we need open up the process completely, without exceptions” stated Senator Ringuette.