By Canadian Press

Acting chief electoral officer Stephane Perrault to become permanent

May 8, 2018 | 4:05 PM

OTTAWA — The man who’s been filling in as the country’s chief electoral watchdog for the last 18 months has been nominated to take over the job permanently.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has selected Stephane Perrault to be the new chief electoral officer, a role that’s responsible for ensuring federal elections are fair, that Canadians can freely exercise their right to vote and that political actors follow all the rules.

Perrault has been the acting chief since December 2016, when Marc Mayrand retired, and opposition parties aren’t likely to question his ability to do the job.

The nomination will be referred to a Commons committee and then must be approved by a vote of the House of Commons.

However, New Democrats are questioning the process that led to the choice of Perrault, saying they received a confidential notice from the Prime Minister’s Office three weeks ago, announcing the nomination of someone else — reportedly Saskatchewan’s chief electoral watchdog, Michael Boda.

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But that name was never announced publicly and now Trudeau has nominated Perrault instead.

“After inexplicably waiting for 18 months to appoint a chief electoral officer, the government sent two letters in the space of three weeks with two different candidates,” NDP MP Guy Caron told the Commons just minutes before Perrault’s nomination was announced Tuesday.

“With only 18 months left until the next election, time is running out.”

Scott Brison, the acting minister for democratic institutions, said it was important to have a rigorous process to choose the person “who will help us preserve the integrity of the electoral system and, at the same time, encourage more Canadians to vote.” But he refused to divulge why the government backed off its first choice.

“It is important that we protect the privacy of all Canadians who participate in these (selection) processes,” he told the Commons. “I wish the NDP would demonstrate the same level of respect.”

The fact that Perrault has been acting chief for 18 months will help “ensure a smooth transition” and make it easier for Elections Canada to implement a raft of changes to election laws introduced in a new bill just last week, Brison said later.

Perrault has warned that any major changes should have been passed last month to give the agency time to implement them for the October 2019 federal election. But Brison said Perrault has told him he believes the changes in the bill — many of which were recommended by Elections Canada — can be implemented in time for the next election.

Moreover, Brison said a lot of the measures have already been “reviewed rigorously” by a Commons committee so there’s no need for opposition parties to drag their feet on passing the bill.

“So we believe there is time, not a lot of time, but there is enough time to move this forward and to implement them before the next election,” he said.

Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press