In total, three of MacKay’s aides were given civil service jobs linked to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency after MacKay lost responsibility for it in 2008.
Two of them had their appointments revoked by the Public Service Commission after investigations found ACOA managers twisted hiring rules. The third appointment was never investigated.
One former MacKay staffer, Kevin MacAdam, is asking the Federal Court to intervene and let him keep his job.
Political staffer Shawn Masterson also had his appointment revoked. He is not fighting the decision and has left ACOA.
Investigators did not find evidence of political interference from MacKay’s office, but several high-ranking ACOA executives, including president Paul Leblanc, have been punished.
Masterson was a political staffer and special assistant of ACOA when MacKay was the minister responsible for the agency.
Sometime after MacKay lost the ACOA file in 2008, Masterson was appointed to an ACOA communications job in Ottawa.
ACOA executives tailored the position to Masterson’s qualifications, excluded other candidates and bent language rules because he did not speak French, the Public Service Commission would later find.
The commission, which is in charge of ensuring the civil service is free of political influence, revoked his appointment but did not identify Masterson.
The Chronicle Herald pieced together his identity based on information gleaned from court documents. His identity was confirmed by a former work associate.
The appointment of Masterson was anything but simple. There were 16 civil servants with priority status for the job he applied for, seemingly putting Masterson at a distinct disadvantage.
The commission found that two unnamed senior ACOA officials and a human resources official explored several possible job classifications before settling on one that matched Masterson’s background.
It was then advertised externally so that he could apply. The job was advertised for just 48 hours — a manager requested the “absolute minimum” — and Masterson was told to keep an eye on the government jobs site.
Applicants were only required to speak English, even though it was a job that would normally require bilingualism in the Ottawa region.
The hiring manager also applied the education qualifications in an unprecedentedly restrictive way, so as to limit the number of candidates from “fewer than 10” to just two, the commission found. Masterson beat out the other candidate.
A similar situation occurred in Prince Edward Island, where Kevin MacAdam won the job of director general of operations.
Aside from being a former MacKay staffer, MacAdam was a Progressive Conservative fisheries minister in P.E.I. and a failed federal Conservative candidate.
The job required knowledge of French and would normally be opened up to internal candidates only. The commission found ACOA dropped the bilingualism requirement and opened up the job to external candidates so MacAdam would win the job.
Upon starting in February 2011, MacAdam began two years of French-language training at his home in Ottawa while drawing his salary. Court documents show he was paid $130,700 per year.
MacKay declined an interview, but a spokesman stressed that no evidence of political interference was found in any of the commission’s investigations.
“It’s no surprise that political staff are often found to be excellent candidates for public service appointments following three years of service in a ministerial office,” said Jay Paxton.
Masterson, MacAdam and another MacKay staffer, Nancy Baker, found themselves in an unstable situation when the ACOA file was moved from MacKay to New Brunswick MP Keith Ashfield.
MacKay no longer had the funding to employ the three, but Ashfield’s budget was already tied up with his own staff.
While two of the three ended up winning ACOA appointments, Baker landed a job at Enterprise Cape Breton Corp., which delivers ACOA programs in that area. Within the last year, she moved to the Defence Department, where MacKay is minister.
Enterprise Cape Breton is a Crown corporation and falls outside the scope of the Public Service Commission. It did not investigate Baker’s appointment.
NDP ACOA critic Ryan Cleary said there is a clear trend of the Conservatives using ACOA, Enterprise Cape Breton and other agencies as a dumping ground for patronage appointments.
“All these bodies that play an important economic and industrial role, we have to have full confidence in these organizations,” said Cleary. “And when you have this kind of patronage that is happening, it undermines everything.”
The commission found four top ACOA executives engaged in improper conduct. Their appointment privileges were suspended, and they were ordered to take an ethics course.
Original Article
Source: thechronicleherald.ca
Author: PAUL McLEOD
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