Patronage appointees asked to step down
OTTAWA— A Via Rail director, the head of Canada Post and two museum directors are among the more than 30 people named to patronage posts by the Conservative government who have been asked by the Liberals to step down.
Government House leader Dominic LeBlanc denounced the last-gasp Tory appointments in the run-up to the October vote as an “abuse of process.”
“The process that was followed did not bear up to scrutiny, including parliamentary scrutiny,” LeBlanc told reporters Tuesday.
“We hope they will do the right thing, remove themselves from those offices and allow a more open and transparent process to fill those positions.”
The government formally made that demand in writing in letters sent out Monday, saying it intends to establish “open, merit-based appointments system” with “greater access to all Canadians.
“I am therefore asking that you consider voluntarily choosing to not serve pursuant to the appointment approved by the previous government,” the letters read.
The letters went out to 33 appointees on a variety of government boards and agencies, ranging from Immigration and Refugee Board to the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.
All of the appointments were made by the Conservatives in the months leading up the October election — many of them in June as MPs prepared to leave Parliament for the final time before the Oct. 19 vote.
In some cases, the Tories handed out five-year extensions to patronage posts that don’t take effect until next year.
LeBlanc would not say Tuesday whether he had heard from any of the appointees, who have until Dec. 18 to respond.
Once the deadline is passed, LeBlanc said he will discuss with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau what the “next options” might be.
“I don’t want to speculate on what the prime minister may decide to do . . . I hope and believe many of these people will do the honourable thing and resist this abuse of power from the previous government,” LeBlanc said.
LeBlanc said the request to refuse the appointment or step down is not a judgment on the capabilities of each an individual.
“It was in our view a judgment about a process that did not meet the required elements of transparency,” LeBlanc said.
“If they want to submit their candidacies in a more open and transparent process, we would of course be happy to look at them.”
There are some high-profile names on the list, including Deepak Chopra. First named president and chief executive officer of Canada Post in 2011, he was reappointed for a second, five-year term to take effect in February.
Canada Post did not respond to a request for comment.
Canada Post’s ongoing moves to halt home mail delivery became an election issue. While the removal of door-to-door delivery has been suspended, it’s not clear whether those who already lost it will have it restored.
The heads of two signature museums in Ottawa are also on the list.
Margaret Beckel, first named head of the Canadian Museum of Nature in 2011, was awarded another fiveyear term, to take effect in June. Museum spokesman Dan Smythe confirmed that Beckel had received the letter but had no further comment.
Mark O’Neill, the director of the Canadian Museum of History, has also been granted a five-year extension that takes effect in 2016. A spokesperson for the museum confirmed that O’Neill had received a letter but said that officials would not be commenting further.
Conservative interim leader Rona Ambrose said it’s up to the government to assess each individual. “If they don’t think they have the capability to do the job, then don’t use them,” she told reporters.
“The government has every right to terminate those appointments, but I would suggest that they look at each of them and see if they’re based on merit, and if they are, it could save them some time and money.”