Unless Premier Dalton McGuinty is planning to name a new Ontario ombudsman and environmental commissioner by the end of March, he should immediately announce one-year, interim appointments for the two people who now hold those jobs.
That would be Andre Marin and Gord Miller respectively, who have been effective and non-partisan critics of his government.
With that done, McGuinty can then get on with naming someone permanently to these positions through an intelligent, fair-minded hiring process.
As it is, by the ham-fisted way the premier has handled what should have been a routine reappointment of both men to five-year terms, he has created the appearance he wants to get rid of two tough watchdogs.
Why? Perhaps he doesn’t want to be embarrassed by their findings, yet again, as voters head into an election next year.
Marin has repeatedly pounded the government for what he’s dubbed “rulitis,” along with incompetence, arrogance and insensitivity, over everything from how it sells lottery tickets, to how it assesses property values to how it treats victims of crime.
Miller has pointed out, among other environmental failings, that McGuinty isn’t going to meet his own greenhouse gas reduction targets — tough stuff for a premier who prides himself on being “Mr. Green.”
McGuinty has said he only wants to ensure the best people possible are in these well-paid jobs — Marin earned $228,000 last year, Miller $159,000.
But he initially seemed to suggest neither Marin nor Miller would be rehired. However, both have since said they will re-apply and the government says they will be fairly considered as part of a competition, before an all-party panel, which will then make a recommendation. We’ll see.
The Liberals point out when they reappointed information and privacy and commissioner Ann Cavoukian last year — also highly regarded — the NDP complained about a closed hiring process.
Normally, these would be valid points, except McGuinty waited until Marin’s and Miller’s five-year terms were almost up to announce he was, in effect, changing the rules.
Both are now lame ducks. Senior public servants, already expert at stonewalling the release of embarrassing information, aren’t likely to respond to requests from Marin and Miller as long as their future is in doubt. Maybe that’s what McGuinty wants — to hobble them by leaving them hanging, while he takes his time deciding whether he can afford to spend the political capital of dumping them before the next election.
Then again, it’s possible McGuinty isn’t being Machiavellian — just dumb in not making an overdue decision.
Either way, he’s placing any potential successors to Marin and Miller in a sticky situation, because the public perception will be they were picked on the grounds they won’t be as much of a pain to the government.
And that’s a bad perception for any watchdog to have to overcome.
Your move, premier.
To read the source article for this post, visit Toronto Sun
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