Doomed Harper government made 49 “future” patronage appointments

Former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet quietly stacked government agencies and Crown corporations with dozens of “future appointments,” and early appointment renewals in the dying days of its regime, many of which were only scheduled to go into effect long after the Conservatives were defeated, iPolitics has learned.

While some had been due to come up for renewal in November and December, others were renewed up to a year in advance of when they had been scheduled to expire and made effective the date the appointees’ current term was due to end.

For example, Mark O’Neill’s term as director of the Canadian Museum of History wasn’t scheduled to expire until June 2016. Last June, Harper’s cabinet renewed his $212,700 to $250,200 a year job for five years, effective June 2016.

John Badowski’s appointment as chairman of the Transportation Appeal Tribunal was renewed July 28. The renewal takes effect Jan. 1, 2019, and runs until July 29, 2020. The position currently pays between $174,700 and $205,500.

...more...

http://ipolitics.ca/2015/11/23/doomed-harper-government-made-49-future-patronage-appointments/

This is outrageous.

Liberals 'Assessing' Whether They Can Remove Tory Appointments

The Prime Minister’s Office is “assessing the situation” and trying to determine if it can get out of several Conservative decisions, such as stacking the National Energy Board with Tories whose appointments kicked in only after the federal election. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had campaigned to shake up the decision-making body, which regulates, for example, the construction of pipeline and natural gas exports.

“This is not a reflection of individual appointees, but rather of the opaque nature of the process surrounding their selection,” Trudeau spokesman Olivier Duchesneau told HuffPost in an email.

“It is regrettable that, particularly over the last decade, government appointments have become synonymous with cynical backroom politics,” Duchesneau added. “Canadians voted for a different approach. That’s why we’ve committed to restoring Canadians’ faith in their government – in part by adopting a new government-wide appointment process that is open and based on merit.”

...more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/11/23/liberals-tory-appointments_n_8634270.html