Port Authority Appointments: Conservative Patronage Continues

Systematic Insider Appointments Spread With Latest Harper Government Appointments

March 12, 2012

OTTAWA - Brushing away any criticism, the Conservative government keeps adding names to the list of plum job recipients. Mirroring the earlier Liberal exploitation of government appointments to reward friends and failed politicians, Transport Canada is giving away lucrative positions to cronies across the country.

In the latest round, the following patronage appointments were made:

  • Jennifer Clarke, a Vancouver Tory who failed in the 2011 election, was named director of the Prince Rupert Port Authority
  • Mark Wright, former assistant to a Conservative MP, found himself appointed to the Thunder Bay Port Authority
  • Andrew Paterson, who massively donated to the Conservatives, got named to a well-paid job with Canada Post

Last week’s appointments follow a pattern of insider rewards. Over the past months, defeated Tory MP Bernard Généreux was rewarded with a director position on the Quebec City Port Authority while the Finance Minister’s riding association president now finds himself at the helm of the newly-formed Oshawa Port Authority.

The systematic approach with which the Harper government is rewarding their buddies shows how out of the touch Conservatives are with Canadian business and citizens, NDP Transport Critic Olivia Chow concludes..

Transcript:

Olivia Chow (Trinity—Spadina, NDP):

Mr. Speaker, the line at the patronage trough keeps getting longer. Last Friday, Jennifer Clarke, a failed Conservative candidate, was appointed to the Prince Rupert Port Authority; generous donor Andrew Patterson got the job at the Canada Post Corporation; the Quebec Port Authority got stuck with another failed Conservative candidate; and the riding president for the finance minister was dropped on the Oshawa Port.

Why won’t the Conservatives work on a real jobs plan instead of rewarding their insider friends?

 

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