The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Special Committee to Appoint a
Chief Electoral Officer

Report

2nd Session, 39th Parliament

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Composition of the Committee

Terms of Reference

Introduction

Meeting Schedule

Recruitment Process

Recommendation

Biographical Information

Appendix A: Advertisement

Appendix B: Election Act [RSBC 1996] CHAPTER 106

May 2011

To the Honourable
Legislative Assembly of the
Province of British Columbia

Honourable Members:

We have the honour to present herewith the Report of the Special Committee to Appoint a Chief Electoral Officer containing our unanimous recommendation.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Committee,

COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE

MEMBERS

*Based on advice received from the Conflict of Interest Commissioner, Dr. Terry Lake, MLA withdrew as an active Member of the Committee on February 3, 2011, the date the recall petition was issued in the electoral district of Kamloops-North Thompson.

CLERK TO THE COMMITTEE
Kate Ryan-Lloyd, Clerk Assistant and Acting Clerk of Committees

RESEARCH STAFF
Josie Schofield, Manager, Committee Research Services

TERMS OF REFERENCE

On May 6, 2010, it was agreed that a Special Committee be appointed to select and unanimously recommend to the Legislative Assembly, the appointment of a Chief Electoral Officer for the Province of British Columbia, pursuant to part 2, section 4 of the Election Act, and that the Special Committee so appointed shall have the powers of a Select Standing Committee and is also empowered:

1. to appoint of their number, one or more subcommittees and to refer to such subcommittees any of the matters referred to the Committee;
2. to sit during a period in which the House is adjourned, during the recess after prorogation until the next following Session and during any sitting of the House;
3. to adjourn from place to place as may be convenient;
4. to retain such personnel as required to assist the Committee;

and shall report to the House as soon as possible, or following any adjournment, or at the next following Session, as the case may be; to deposit the original of its reports with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly during a period of adjournment and upon resumption of the sittings of the House, the Chair shall present all reports to the Legislative Assembly.

The said Special Committee is to be composed of Messrs. van Dongen (Convener) and Lake, Ms. Cadieux, Mr. Ralston and Ms. Hammell.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Special Committee would like to acknowledge the contributions of Harry Neufeld who served as Chief Electoral Officer from 2002 to 2010. During his tenure Mr. Neufeld demonstrated superior leadership skills and made an ongoing contribution to strengthening the democratic process and electoral administration in the province.

Since June 2010, Craig James has served as Acting Chief Electoral Officer. The Committee appreciates his willingness to serve so ably in this role as well as his effective and professional leadership of Elections BC.

INTRODUCTION

The Chief Electoral Officer is a non-partisan, independent officer of the Legislature responsible for the fair, impartial and efficient administration of electoral events in British Columbia. The primary duties and powers of the position are specified in the Election Act and the Recall and Initiative Act.

The appointment of the Chief Electoral Officer is made by the Lieutenant Governor on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly.  An all-party special committee is responsible for making a unanimous recommendation to the House on who should be appointed to this position. 

This procedure was used for the first time in 1996 to recommend the reappointment of Robert A. Patterson as the province’s first fully independent Chief Electoral Officer, who served until 2002.  An all-party Special Committee also recommended the appointment of Harry Neufeld, whose term ended on June 5, 2010. A Chief Electoral Officer serves for a term of two elections, plus one year.

This report contains the Special Committee’s unanimous recommendation to the Legislative Assembly regarding the appointment of the province’s third independent Chief Electoral Officer.

MEETING SCHEDULE

During the second session, the recruitment of the new Chief Electoral Officer covered the period between May 2010 and February 2011.  In addition to informal discussions to plan and conduct the recruitment process, nine formal meetings were held for the following purposes:

RECRUITMENT PROCESS

On May 18, 2010, the Special Committee to Appoint a Chief Electoral Officer held its organizational meeting and elected the Chair and Deputy Chair.  The appointment process was also reviewed at that meeting.

As part of the recruitment process, the Special Committee, with assistance from the Office of the Clerk of Committees, carried out a variety of administrative and procedural tasks related to the job description and advertising placement, processing of applications, preparation of position profile and screening matrix, drafting of interview questions, background and reference checks.

At the meetings on July 28 and August 10, 2010, the media plan for advertising the position was reviewed and approved. Between September 8 and 11, 2010, an advertisement was placed in the Vancouver Sun and two national daily newspapers, the Globe and Mail and National Post,inviting applications for the position of Chief Electoral Officer. A copy of the advertisement is in Appendix A.

During the candidate-identification phase, electoral offices across Canada were notified of the vacancy to encourage qualified people to apply for the position.  National organizations representing lawyers, municipal administrators and public-service professionals were also contacted.

The Special Committee received 41 applications for the position of Chief Electoral Officer; 32 were submitted by residents of British Columbia and 9 from outside the province. Seven applicants were short-listed who met or exceeded the requirements for the position.  Each candidate on the short list was asked to answer a set of written questions prior to the interview.

Seven interviews were conducted at the Parliament Buildings in Victoria on December 9 and 10.  Each candidate was asked the same set of questions to ensure consistency.  Answers were ranked on a matrix that assessed the candidate’s background, knowledge, logical and analytical skills, leadership, management, decision-making, communication, personal attributes and suitability for the position.

Once the interviews were concluded, the Special Committee carefully considered the credentials of the seven finalists and assessed their ability to carry out the duties and powers outlined in part 2, section 4 of the Election Act (see Appendix B).

Following background and reference checks, a second interview was conducted on February 9, 2011.

RECOMMENDATION

At the meeting on February 9, 2011, the Special Committee unanimously agreed to recommend Dr. Keith Archer as the Chief Electoral Officer, pursuant to section 4 of the Election Act.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Keith Archer is Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary, a position he has held since 1984, and Director of Research at the Banff Centre.  He completed BA and MA degrees in Political Science at The University of Windsor, and a PhD at Duke University. In addition to his academic appointment in Political Science, Dr. Archer has served in a number of senior administrative positions, including Associate Dean (Research) in Social Sciences, Associate Vice-President (Research), and Interim Vice-President (Research) at the University of Calgary. 

Dr. Archer’s teaching and research has focused on the study of elections and voting. He is the author, co-author, or co-editor of seven books and over 30 articles and chapters in this area. He has served on many boards, commissions, and agencies, such as the Canadian Federation of the Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission. Dr. Archer has held senior positions in university and college administration, serving in senior capacities in board governance, and providing personnel supervision, budget management and oversight, strategic planning, and program delivery.

Dr. Archer served as lead writer of the voter registration materials of the Administration and Cost of Elections project, a major international initiative undertaken by the United Nations, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), and the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), to produce an electronic encyclopedia of election administration in 1997-98. In 2004, the project was expanded to become the ACE Knowledge Network, and once again he was contracted, this time by Elections Canada, to complete the materials on voter registration.

A number of his writing projects address election administration, including research on  electoral boundary making in Alberta, several reports prepared for the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing in Canada (The Lortie Commission), a review of the National Register of Electors for Elections Canada, and a report on changing conceptions of representation for the Law Commission of Canada, among others.

Dr. Archer has led a training session on voter registration at the UN, delivered addresses at meetings of Chief Electoral Officers of Canada, provided testimony on Bill C-16 (Expanded Voting Opportunities) to a Committee of the House of Commons, and provided expert opinion in several court cases involving the interpretation of section 3 “the right to vote” of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Keith is married to Lisa Hurst-Archer, and together they have five adult children. They share a love of nature, outdoor pursuits, and the arts.

APPENDIX A: ADVERTISEMENT

APPENDIX B: ELECTION ACT [RSBC 1996] CHAPTER 106

PART 2 — ELECTION AND OTHER OFFICIALS, DIVISION 1 — CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER

Appointment of chief electoral officer

Impartiality

Term of office

Remuneration and pension

Resignation, removal or suspension

Acting chief electoral officer

General staff of the chief electoral officer

Expenses of administering Act

Duties and powers of the chief electoral officer

Reports to the Legislative Assembly