Let territorial job applicants see their references, says Nunavut MLA

MLA Pat Angnakak is urging the Government of Nunavut to change its policyrefusing its job applicants a look at their references.

"As soon as somebody makes a reference about you that's your information, it belongs to you, so you should be able to say, 'I want my information about myself,'" she said.

She says unsuccessful candidates should have the opportunity to defend claims made by their referees.

Angnakak has heard from two constituents in her riding of Iqaluit-Niaqunnguuwho were denied that chance.

Policy may contradictprivacy laws

In the past, candidates could request to see what referees had said about them, via a process laid out in the territory's privacy act.

But the government changed its human resources policy in August.

Angnakak says her constituents were told the change was to encourage more people to agree to providereferences.

However, that blanket reason might not be enough to justify the reduction in transparency.

Nunavut's Privacy Commissioner, Elaine Keenan Bengts, addressed the MLA's concerns at a standing committee meeting last week.

To comply with the territory's privacy act, she said the government would need to review each case individually and provide specific reasons for refusing the applicant.

"A policy which says we are simply not going to disclose any of the information we get from references, is clearly, in my opinion, contrary to the act," Keenan Bengts said.

The commissioner said that access to information rights have been held by the Supreme Court of Canada as "quasi-constitutional,"so they should only be removed in situations causing extreme harm.

Within that, she said access to personal information, such as references, was of the "highest level of entitlement."

Case-by-case review practiced

The Department of Finance, which oversees human resources, said it consulted with the Privacy Commissioner before making the change.

In an email to CBC, it said that instead of a general policy veering to either openness or confidentiality, referees are now given the opportunity to request their reference be private.

"In the event a candidate believes they may receive an unfair or biased reference, they have the opportunity to request that the current supervisor not be used as a reference."

The email said that if thedepartment erred on the side of access and practiced a case-by-case review, thenKeenan Bengtssaid she would not object to the policy change.

Since the change, the department says only one person has formally asked to see their references and that request was fulfilled.

But Angnakak says she believes the change signified thegovernment was going in the wrong direction.

"We should be going the other way, we need to inform the people we serve what we're doing, and how we're doing business."

Angnakak has sent a letter to the Department of Finance asking for the process to be more open.

She will table the letter and the department's response in the upcoming spring sitting of the legislature.