Former Liberal cabinet minister John Efford lands new role

Named one of four appointees to N.L. Financial Services Appeal Board

One of the province’s most famous living politicians, John Efford, has been appointed to the province’s Financial Services Appeals Board.

The board is responsible for handling any appeals to decisions made by the province’s superintendent of securities, superintendent of insurance, superintendent of real estate agents, and registrar of mortgage brokers.

Efford is one of four board appointees.

Elected to the House of Assembly in 1985, Efford left provincial politics after a 2001 loss to Roger Grimes for the provincial Liberal leadership. His political career didn’t end there, as Efford was elected to the House of Commons in 2002, in a federal byelection.

Re-elected in 2004, he ultimately left a cabinet position and then did not reseek his federal seat in 2006 after being sidelined for months by health issues associated with diabetes.

In 2007, he reportedly tested the political waters again, for a possible run for president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Liberals. And in 2011, as The Telegram reported, he publicly criticized then-leader and current Member of Parliament Yvonne Jones. He suggested Jones resign, due to a poor result in political opinion polling.

Outside of public life, Efford has a background in business administration and small business.

The Financial Services Appeals Board also includes Anthony Patey and Peter Wakeham, confirmed for two years. The chair is Gregory French, who was appointed to a four-year term and takes over from the outgoing Stacy Macdonald. There is one board vacancy.

The chair’s position was promoted to potential candidates in an online posting by the province’s law society last spring, and the appointments commission had sought applications from potential board appointees.

The board reports to Service NL. The government department states online there have been just two meetings required over the last two years. Hearings usually last two to four hours, but with additional time required to write decisions, members commit a day or two on average.

Board members are on the second tier of remuneration, under the provincial guidelines for agencies, boards and commissions. It provides $240 for a normal working day for a board member or $120 for a half-day. That compensation runs to $335 for a full-day commitment for a board chair.

Appointees with certain professional qualifications may be awarded more. Per diem rates for physicians, specialists and lawyers at that same level max out at $455 a day for lawyers and $525 a day for “specialists.”