Whoever runs P.E.I.’s electoral reform referendum will have to apply for the job first.
The legislative management committee met recently to discuss the matter, and on Thursday, the legislative assembly posted the position of referendum commissioner.
Opposition Leader James Aylward said he was glad to see the process was going to be open and advertised publicly.
“I had a major concern that this was just going to be hand-picked by the government and that would be it,” he said.
The position of referendum commissioner is a requirement under the Electoral System Referendum Act, which sets out the rules in the vote that will determine if P.E.I. changes to a mixed member proportional system.
That vote will be tied to the next general election.
Under the act, the legislative management committee will recommend an appointee to the legislative assembly.
That person will then need the support of two-thirds of MLAs.
The job posting says the successful candidate must be impartial on the subject of electoral system reform, as well as have knowledge and experience regarding election advertising and the conduct of referenda and elections.
The advertisement also said the successful candidate must have extensive knowledge of the Electoral System Referendum Act.
It will be a temporary appointment, with the deadline for applications is Sept. 28.
The referendum commissioner will be an independent officer of the legislative assembly in the same way that positions like the privacy commissioner, the chief electoral officer and the auditor general are.
After the Electoral System Referendum Act was first tabled with a June 1 deadline for the appointment of a referendum commissioner, it led to several MLAs raising concerns that the government was trying to rush it.
Aylward said he felt the committee did the right thing by opening the position up to the public.
“Why the government wanted to rush the process previously, I don’t know,” he said.
Green leader Peter Bevan-Baker said he has also called for an open process in the selection of a referendum commissioner.
“I’m really glad that this process is going to be truly open and apparently transparent so that’s great,” he said.
While the house was sitting it felt like there was an “unseemly haste” to get the referendum legislation passed, Bevan-Baker said, adding that with the job posting public it was nice to have some breathing room.
“It doesn’t feel like it’s a huge rush now, which is the way I believe it should have always been."
Although the position’s advertisement is public, details of what happened in the legislative management committee meeting aren’t because it was private.
Bevan-Baker said he thinks all legislative management meetings should be open to the public.
“I think this tradition of meeting in camera is not a healthy one,” he said.
Aylward, who has also called for open legislative management committee meetings, said there are some issues that have to be in camera, but there should be as much public disclosure as possible.
“My feeling is the majority of the work should be still done in open public meetings,” he said.
Referendum commissioner duties:
Implement public education and information programs related to the referendum, referendum advertising and voting systems
Help groups that want to become referendum advertisers
Monitor compliance with the Electoral System Referendum Act
Announce the referendum result
Provide a report to the speaker of the legislative assembly
