Paul MacNeill weighs in on the Francis report.
Against the Tide
Review Pays Lip-Service to IRAC Patronage
by Paul MacNeill
There are few surprises in the interim report on modernizing Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission, which because of three decades of political indifference stands as a symbol of secrecy, public frustration, and bureaucratic arrogance.
IRAC oversees all things requiring regulatory oversight in PEI. Petroleum. Land ownership and protection. Rental housing. Automobile insurance. Municipal. If it were working properly, it would be a trusted independent arbiter.
IRAC is not trusted.
It works at a sloth-like pace. It holds Islanders in disdain, routinely withholding the most basic information about what it does, how it does it and why it does it. It is a patronage sinkhole, void of integrity. Whoever is in power uses the body to reward partisan insiders and friends.
Premier Rob Lantz tasked Rory Francis to deliver recommendations for change. Much of what Francis released last week is predictable. Split IRAC into two distinct bodies, an Energy and Utilities board and a Land and Appeals board, served with a shared support staff. It also recommends the Residential Tenancy Office peel completely away from IRAC into a new stand-alone body.
Francis concludes IRAC workload has become too cumbersome. He believes a more efficient, transparent governance model will lead to increased public trust, which he acknowledges is a major issue.
All IRAC commissioners, from the CEO to part-time, are appointed by the provincial government. It is among the cushiest of patronage appointments. Francis says the process is driven by ‘political connections.’
Appointments are not merit-based, nor focussed on required expertise. “It is casual, not calculated,” the report says.
Despite the obvious connections between commissioners and government of the day, Francis concludes “the Review has found no evidence that government, at either political or bureaucratic levels, is inappropriately influencing IRAC decision-making.”
Did they even look?
Why did IRAC not investigate Buddhist land holdings in 2018? Who decided no report would be produced? And who decided to throw a cloak of secrecy over the file that would last for seven years?
Why has IRAC not released, as promised, the Brendel Farms investigation that examined Mary Jean Irving’s attempt to circumvent the Lands Protection Act?
The review suggests IRAC has internal conflict of interest policies, but if they exist, they have never been publicly released. Francis calls for a strengthening of conflict rules directly within the Island Regulatory and Appeals Act.
The current CEO is Pam Williams. She was Chief of Staff to Premier Dennis King, a position that would require her input on major files with IRAC oversight, including Brendel Farms and Buddhist land holdings. She left the premier’s office to accept a 10-year appointment. What files, if any, has Williams recused herself from? We don’t know.
There may be no evidence to show political interference. But there is a hell of a lot of anecdotal evidence to suggest IRAC is not above quietly scratching the back of government.
And here is where it gets important. Buried on page 93 of a 96-page report, Francis suggests keeping all current IRAC staff until all new entities are ready to roll out operationally. This could take years, depending on how quickly – or slowly – government wants to move.
“Existing IRAC staff represent considerable institutional knowledge and should, wherever practicable, form the operational foundation of the successor organizations. Transition should strengthen capacity rather than temporarily diminish it.”
They also are the face of patronage. Keeping Tory appointments may play well in Brighton but will do nothing to build public trust.
The review suggests an ‘external recruitment committee’ oversee selection of future commissioners. It offers no insight into how the committee should be selected, who it will report to, and whether its recommendations are binding.
In the absence of detail, it is highly probable current and future governments will continue to play pork barrel politics with appointments.
Rory Francis’s report is significant. His recommendations are substantive and offer the potential for a more effective regulatory framework, albeit with a significantly larger bureaucracy and cost to taxpayers.
But if we are delivering change without ending patronage, it is an exercise that will fail to deliver what Islanders are demanding.
