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David Raymond Amos‏ @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @alllibertynews and 49 others


Speaking of fear and loathing during a purported pandemic in in the Maritimes methinks Higgy doesn't need enemies with Little Lou and Rotten Ray for fans N'esy Pas?




#nbpoli#cdnpoli



https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-library-executive-director-ad-sylvie-nadeau-letter-1.5531550

Former head of library service alleges job ad worded so non-librarian could fill post

Sylvie Nadeau calls on Premier Blaine Higgs to review controversial appointment of Kevin Cormier

CBC News· Posted: Apr 14, 2020 5:32 PM AT




Sylvie Nadeau served as provincial librarian and executive director of the New Brunswick Public Library Service for 20 years until her retirement at the end of December. (Submitted by Sylvie Nadeau)


The former head of New Brunswick's Public Library Service has written a letter to Premier Blaine Higgs, alleging the wording of the ad for her position was designed to let the province replace her with a non-librarian.
Sylvie Nadeau, who served as the provincial librarian and executive director for 20 years until her retirement at the end of December, said she recently returned from a two-month vacation in Spain and learned Kevin Cormier was put in charge of the province's 64 public libraries, despite an apparent lack of library training or experience.
"As a citizen, this appointment gives me grave concerns that this might be the new way that the government is going to fill positions anywhere in government in the future: by manipulating the recruitment ads (beyond their officially approved requirements) to 'tailoring' them in order to facilitate particular agendas, political appointments, favouritism, friendships, and what else," she wrote.

Nadeau said she knows of at least two "highly qualified" internal candidates who were interviewed for the job, which comes with an annual salary of up to nearly $114,000.

Appointment 'flawed'

She is calling on the premier to order an in-depth independent review of the "profoundly flawed" recruitment process, including the writing and approval of the ad, the screening of candidates, the interviews, the composition of the panel that conducted the interviews, the linguistic assessment, the use of the Corporate Talent Management Program to appoint Cormier, as well as the appointment itself.
If the review finds "due processes were not followed or that there were flaws," she contends Cormier's appointment should be rescinded.

Higgs could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

The Department of Post-Secondary Education Training and Labour, which the public library service falls under, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nadeau said the executive director ad published by the government last fall did not meet the qualifications and level of experience laid out in the position description questionnaire, known as a PDQ, that was submitted and approved by the office of human resource's classification committee when the position was classified at pay band level nine about 10 years ago.



Kevin Cormier was appointed the executive director of the New Brunswick Public Library Service, effective Feb. 18. (Kevin Cormier/Facebook)


The minimum requirements in that document are: "MLIS (master of library and/or information studies) with 9 years of progressive experience, including management and supervision of library operation. Knowledge of large network library system is essential."

But the job posting stipulated a master's degree in library and/or information studies from an American Library Association-accredited program, "with a minimum of (8) years of progressively responsible related work experience, including at least three (3) years of management experience in a complex operational environment involving responsibility for human and financial resources. A combination of education, training and experience may be considered."

Whoever directed this must have felt quite powerful, untouchable and invincible to think this would go unnoticed and unchallenged.

- Sylvie Nadeau, retired executive director of provincial library service

"By removing the 'library management' experience component, and adding the broader wording and the equivalency clause, it opened the door to all kinds of interpretations to allow a wide range of equivalencies," said Nadeau.

"This obviously had a direct impact on the screening process to select the candidates who would be invited to an interview. As a next step, it allowed the appointment of a candidate without a master of library and/or information studies and the library management experience."

Nadeau questioned why the wording of the ad would "stray so far" from the qualifications described in the approved PDQ.

"This had to be intentional. But again why? What was the agenda behind this?

"Whoever directed this must have felt quite powerful, untouchable and invincible to think this would go unnoticed and unchallenged."

'Incomprehensible'

Nadeau said she felt duty-bound to write to Higgs to alert him to the situation and give him the opportunity to "correct this unfair, unjustifiable and incomprehensible decision."

"As the retired provincial librarian/executive director, I see it as a misguided disrespect to the public and against a profession and generations of professional librarians and library staff who have built New Brunswick Public Library Service," she wrote.

The legacy of generations of professional librarians who managed the public library system to make it what it is today have been "trampled on."

Nadeau contends the classification of the position would never have been approved as a pay band level nine if the description of the qualifications in the PDQ had not indicated the necessity of a master's degree in library and/or information studies as well as nine years of progressive experience, including management and supervision of library operation.

"From an administrative point of view, once approved, the position description questionnaires are to be used to create job specifications ('specs'), job descriptions and recruitment ads. All these documents work together and are supposed to be aligned," she wrote. "This is how it is supposed to work."

 

Labour Minister Trevor Holder has declined to discuss Cormier's qualifications, instead asking New Brunswickers to give him 'time to prove himself.' (Ed Hunter/CBC)


He spent the past year as a strategic adviser in the Executive Council Office, working on corporate governance and accountability with agencies, boards and commissions of the public service. He was previously the chief executive officer of Kings Landing Corporation.

Talent program under scrutiny

Holder reiterated at the time that he has "complete confidence" in the controversial appointment made by his former deputy minister Sadie Perron under the program.

"It has been used throughout the years to move people around throughout government and that's exactly what happened here," Holder said.

"Now having said that, I understand there's some public concern here, and that's why the premier [and] myself have spoken to the Department of Human Resources and we're actually currently having a review of the talent management program just to make sure that it does what it's supposed to do.

"And if there can be any improvements made to that program, we will do that."



 



31 Comments 






David Amos
Methinks Higgy's and everybody else's hat should be off to Sylvie Nadeau for speaking up N'esy Pas?  











 


William Nelson
Ahh, yes, the Maritimes. This is heard of!
Loved the beauty, but loathed the B...S.


Ray Oliver  







John Smith
Yes, Blaine will make changes as soon as he hires all his friends, political and otherwise. Lets not forget about his Irving hires and the neighbor from Quispamsis that all got $100,000 jobs. .



Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: He was laughing so hard he had to hang the phone up. Oh Higgy you kill me every time!! 



























Lou Bell
Hiring an unqualified person who was terrible at their last management job usually doesn't qualify them for another management job ! Apparently patheticism rewards patheticism !!

David News 



























Lou Bell
This is the same process used to illegally award a Liquor outlet on the Hanwell to a NON EXISTENT Convenience store !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There were parameters to be met and somehow THE NON EXISTENT convenience store was awarded the outlet ahaead of ALL OTHER APPLICANTS !!!!!!!!!!!!


Melissa MacDonald 


























Brian Robertson
Well, if a part time drama teacher can be Prime Minister, that pretty much throws the door wide open for any other government jobs.




June Arnott
Nice to see someone who has experience calling out the government on this. Fishy things always going on.


David Amos