Public appointments and patronage

Harper government stacks public service with loyalists while it stalls on setting up accountable panel.

OTTAWA, July 26, 2007: The Conservatives are accused of lying to voters when they promised a new era of accountability by ending the controversial practice of appointing partisans to federal agencies, boards and commissions. Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch says that in 2007 alone, the Harper Conservatives have appointed 800 people, many with close ties to the Conservative Party. An article in today's Toronto Star resurrects questions about whether the Harper Conservatives have, despite rhetoric to the contrary, practiced patronage on a wide scale.

"They are paying off party supporters with appointments," said Conacher in a phone interview with HarperIndex.ca. Many, he says, are in law enforcement. with 5-10 year terms. "The longer they stay in power, the more of those positions are turning over, and the more they can get their people in. It will have a long-term effect on law enforcement and policies." Conacher says the Conservatives have stalled on legal commitments to launch a publicly-accountable panel on public appointments.

Related individuals, organizations and significant events
RCMP - Task force instead of inquiry sends law-and-order signals
Patronage and employment programs

Harper Conservative vs. Public Values Frame
  Accountable / Patronage, stalling
  Promises to change appointments process / Broken promises

Links and sources
  Democracy Watch
  Tories still giving jobs to friends: Watchdog, Toronto Star, July 26, 2007

Posted: July 27, 2007

Harper Index (HarperIndex.ca) is a project of the Golden Lake Institute and the online publication StraightGoods.ca