Members Sought for Agencies, Boards and Commissions

It's now even easier for Nova Scotians to see how they can make a difference in their province.

Nova Scotians from all walks of life can read their newspapers, go online or telephone to find out more about vacancies on district health authorities, library boards, or many of the province's other agencies, boards and commissions.

"Nova Scotia is a great place to live and work," said Ron Chisholm, chair of the legislature's all-party standing committee on human resources. "In order to best reflect all that's good about the province, we need people with diverse experiences and backgrounds on our many agencies, boards and commissions. We need people who have an interest in, and commitment to, making this place we love even better."

Twice a year the province advertises vacancies on agencies, boards and commissions. Fall listings of many boards that are seeking applications will appear in select daily newspapers across the province on Saturday, Oct. 22. The ad will also be available, for a limited time, on the government website at www.gov.ns.ca .

This fall, information on various agencies, boards and commissions is also available by following links on the website at www.gov.ns.ca/exec_council or by calling toll-free 1-866-206-6844 (or 424-4877 in Halifax Regional Municipality).

Mr. Chisholm said that by reading the information on an individual agency, board or commission, a potential applicant will learn about specific requirements for an advertised board's members.

"We want people to realize that many of these groups do not require people with previous government experience," said Mr. Chisholm. "Sometimes they are looking for people from a particular line of work, or from a specific geographic area. It's worth exploring the ads and then the websites to see if there is something of interest to you."

While many of the positions are voluntary, some are not. As part of the process, all applicants consent to the public release of their application information if they are seeking a seat on an agency, board or commission that pays $100 or more per day.

Applications are reviewed by department screening panels and by cabinet members before names of qualified individuals are forwarded to the standing committee on human resources for final decisions.

Applications for adjudicative boards are reviewed by non-partisan advisory committees. These boards -- which are required to receive evidence, make findings of fact and law or make decisions that can affect a person's liberty, security or legal rights -- also advertise separately. Their most recent ad appeared in daily newspapers on Saturday, Oct. 15.