A former Canadian Alliance MP who stepped aside to allow Stockwell Day to run federally has received a patronage appointment from the Conservative government.Jim Hart, 57, was appointed last week as a full-time member of the Parole Board of Canada (Pacific region), a five-year term that will pay him between $121,700 and $143,100 annually. The appointment was approved by cabinet on May 16.
Hart does not appear to have any experience in law enforcement or corrections, and worked in advertising and radio before he was first elected as a Reform Party MP in 1993.
In 2000, Hart resigned as MP for the B.C. riding of Okanagan-Coquihalla, allowing Day, newly-elected as Canadian Alliance leader, to run in a byelection.
It was later revealed that Day’s office had agreed to pay Hart $50,000 in return, though he had to hire a lawyer to extract payment from the Alliance after retiring.
At the time, Hart was described by the Edmonton Journal as “unemployed and living on a $277-a-month MP pension in Summerland, B.C., with his wife and three-month-old daughter.”
The deal caught the attention of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, but no charges were ever laid.
Hart last year sought the B.C. Conservative Party nomination as provincial candidate in Vernon but he withdrew citing “family issues,” according to local media.
After a disastrous run as Alliance leader, Day became a cabinet minister in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government, serving several portfolios, before retiring to become a consultant.
UPDATE: Hart is not the only new addition to the parole board. Simon Chapelle, who until a few month ago served as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada’s national council (he is still listed on the webpage) has won a seat as a part-time member of the parole board.
Chapelle is a Belleville, Ont., information technology consultant. He says he went through a rigorous 14-month application process and chose to step down from the national council as a “cooling off period” before beginning his job with the parole board.
Original Article
Source: blogs.ottawacitizen.com
Author: Glen McGregor
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