The NDP is putting its stamp on government, and that stamp should include appointing people based on merit and expertise, rather than political loyalty.
The recently departed B.C. Liberal government left an unmistakable whiff of cronyism in the halls of power.
Last week, the NDP blew away some of that odour by firing former Liberal leader Gordon Wilson from his position as liquefied-natural-gas advocate. Unlike many political appointees who got their walking papers in the past weeks, Wilson did not get severance.
Bruce Ralston, jobs, trade and technology minister and former LNG critic, said Wilson wrote no reports on what he did, and apparently reported orally, although Ralston said there were no notes of what was said.
Wilson said his job was to advocate, not write reports, but surely British Columbians need something in writing so we can evaluate whether we got value for the more than $550,000 we paid him since October 2013. That’s one reason most governments insist on written records on just about everything.
The new government also got off on the right foot with many of its decisions about senior civil servants. It terminated nine deputy ministers and one associate deputy. Of those, four had clear Liberal ties. All but one of those people were replaced by others promoted from inside the public service.
Of course, dozens of political staff also lost their jobs, and NDP loyalists were appointed to political jobs.
Removing 133 former employees, including political advisers, ministerial assistants and communications officials, cost taxpayers $11,332,206. However, the government pointed out that when inflation is taken into account, that is less than the $9 million that went to ex-NDP appointees when the Liberals took power in 2001.
One of the victims of the housecleaning was Jessica McDonald, the former deputy minister to Gordon Campbell, who was fired from her job as B.C. Hydro’s president and chief executive officer. That was not unexpected because, despite her undeniable management skills, she was so closely associated in the public mind with the Liberals.
Her departure came one day after an appointment that was much more clearly based on expertise. Premier John Horgan named Kenneth Peterson as chairman of B.C. Hydro, in place of Brad Bennett, who was one of former premier Christy Clark’s election campaign advisers.
Peterson had been CEO of Powerex, the marketing and trading subsidiary of B.C. Hydro. Since 2006, he has been a trustee of North American Reliability Corp., a non-profit group that oversees the reliability of power systems. Those are solid credentials for the chairman of the province’s electric-power producer.
Other appointments of people with expertise have included Cassie Doyle, who becomes chairwoman of the B.C. Housing Management Commission. Doyle is former CEO of Canadian International Resources and Development Institute, which helps developing countries manage their natural resources. She has also served as deputy minister in the B.C. and federal governments.
Cathy McLay, TransLink’s chief financial officer and executive vice-president, finance and corporate services, was named a director of ICBC. She is also on the boards of Coast Mountain Bus Company, Providence Health Care and the B.C. Rapid Transit Company.
Although Horgan has already appointed party stalwarts such as former leader Joy MacPhail, the new chairwoman of ICBC, he should resist the temptation wherever possible.
Appointments to departments, agencies and Crown corporations demand skill and experience more than they demand political loyalty. When those positions are filled by people with obvious qualifications, it gives the public confidence that decisions are made in the public interest.
Leave politics to those who were elected, and let experts run the machinery.
