Advocacy group NFB/ONF Creation is protesting what it says is the involvement of National Film Board commissioner Claude Joli-Coeur on the committee tasked with interviewing candidates in the hiring process of his successor to lead the institution.Supplied
A group representing independent Canadian filmmakers is protesting what it says is the involvement of the current head of the National Film Board in the hiring process of his successor to lead the federal government institution.
According to advocacy group NFB/ONF Creation, Claude Joli-Coeur – whose term as NFB government film commissioner and chair ends this fall – is on the committee tasked with interviewing candidates and selecting a shortlist to recommend to the government, which ultimately makes the appointment. The group said it became aware last week of his participation from two applicants who were interviewed for the job.
“This is a violation of the principles of good governance and the appearance of impartiality which underlies public trust in our institutions,” NFB/ONF Creation said in an Aug. 18 letter sent to Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez.
“This is clearly a conflict of interest situation and unhealthy for the future of an organization desperately in need of fresh leadership with a new vision,” the group’s spokesperson Munro Ferguson told The Globe and Mail.
Among NFB/ONF Creation’s concerns about Joli-Coeur’s presence in the hiring process is that it could make it difficult for a candidate to speak freely in criticizing the current operation or expressing their vision for it – if that vision differs from the one that the current commissioner, who has been with the NFB for nearly 20 years, has implemented.
“We just don’t think it’s very likely that Mr. Joli-Coeur is going to be supportive of a candidate that is offering real change to the decisions he’s made over the years,” Ferguson said.
The NFB declined a Globe interview request for Joli-Coeur because the hiring process falls under the government’s responsibility and is confidential. When asked to confirm Joli-Coeur’s presence on the selection committee, a spokesperson said its composition is not public and the NFB cannot comment on it.
According to the letter, two of the current candidates to lead the film board are former NFB employees who had sought the position three years ago when Joli-Coeur applied for his second term. This effectively makes them rivals, Ferguson said – potentially compromising their chances if Joli-Coeur is part of the selection process.
“After he was retained in his job, Mr. Joli-Coeur eliminated the positions of those two employees,” the letter states. “How can those two candidates expect to be fairly evaluated?”
Ferguson acknowledges that it is not possible to say that those positions were eliminated because the people in them had applied for the top job, but he said that is a widely held perception: “The appearance of conflict of interest is a conflict of interest.”
Ferguson noted that the rules state someone from the board must be part of the process, but he says it shouldn’t be the chair.
“It just seems to be pushing the edge of what’s proper,” he said. “It might be legal, but it’s very corrosive to trust in the organization.”
Ferguson, a filmmaker, co-founded NFB/ONF Creation to advocate for freelancers who make work for the NFB. The group, now with 370 members, has previously expressed strong concerns over what it says are low levels of external production funding and also spoke out against Joli-Coeur’s reappointment to the commissioner role in 2019.
NFB/ONF Creation has also been raising a larger issue around governance at the board, calling for a separation of the commissioner and chair roles. The group points out that other government-funded or -run arts organizations, including Telefilm, the CBC and the Canada Council, operate with the two roles separated. This month’s letter states that former heritage minister Steven Guilbeault had promised to separate the positions.
Ferguson said the letter has not yet received a response from Rodriguez. A Canadian Heritage spokesperson said Rodriguez was not available to speak with The Globe and Mail for this story.
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