'Missing out on such opportunities can affect the trajectory of an entire career'
B.C. Ombudsperson Jay Chalke has revealed that for the past decade, dozens of public service positions intended for the career development of public servants were wrongly awarded to government appointees.
The report, as detailed by Global News, highlights “systemic mismanagement” within the B.C. Public Service Agency, which allowed government appointees to apply for temporary positions meant exclusively for “regular public servants.”
CTV News reported that in a briefing Monday, Chalke said the Public Service Agency, “has a written policy that, at face value, precludes (order-in-council) appointees from applying for internal temporary assignments in the public service […] The stated rationale for the policy was to preserve these temporary assignment opportunities for regular public servants in order to support their career development."
Chalke said that 64 temporary jobs went to ineligible individuals who were previously appointed under government orders-in-council. This diverted career development opportunities from public servants, Chalke said.
"Missing out on such opportunities can affect the trajectory of an entire career," Chalke said in the CTV News report.
"This conduct undermined the public service's commitment to the development of these employees, and systemic acceptance of a policy breach tarnishes the B.C. government's reputation as a fair and principled employer."
Ombudsperson tipped off by government employee
Order-in-council appointees include “board and tribunal members, ministerial assistants and government communications staff,” Chalke told reporters Monday.
The investigation began after Chalke's office received a tip from a government employee about two hirings at the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction.
Global News reported that while these specific cases did not reveal any issues, the broader investigation uncovered significant policy breaches.
From 2013 to 2023, 205 government appointees applied for temporary positions despite the agency’s policy barring them from doing so, Chalke’s office found. He emphasized that awarding these jobs to ineligible individuals constitutes “wrongdoing” according to B.C.’s Public Interest Disclosure Act.