Angry in the Great White North

Consider Jim Gouk:

Gouk began his political career as an alderman in Castlegar, British Columbia. Gouk would enter federal politics in 1993 when he was elected into the Canadian House of Commons. In the Canadian federal election, 1993 he was elected in Kootenay West—Revelstoke with the Reform Party of Canada. In the Canadian federal election, 1997 he was elected out of the West Kootenay—Okanagan riding. In the Canadian federal election, 2000, Gouk was elected after joining the Canadian Alliance from the Kootenay—Boundary—Okanagan riding. He was elected a fourth time in the Canadian federal election, 2004 in the riding of Southern Interior, this time for the Conservative Party of Canada.

Now there is a guy who is clearly connected with the governing party. Recently he was appointed to the board of Nav Canada, where the government controls three seats. Patronage, right?

One day after tabling landmark legislation with a promise to clean up Ottawa and do things differently, Stephen Harper's government has found a new job for an old friend.

Former Conservative MP Jim Gouk, 59, has been appointed to fill one of the government positions on the board of directors of Nav Canada with the potential to earn about $70,000 a year.

Love that opening paragraph. This is a news story, not an editorial. Well, to continue:

"This is appalling," said NDP ethics critic Pat Martin. "They should be ashamed of themselves on the heels of their Accountability Act to be announcing what can only be described as a pure patronage pork appointment."

Mr. Martin said it also contradicts a proposal in the act to create a commission that would monitor all government nominations and prevent people from taking advantage of inside connections.

"I don't think Gouk would have passed that level of scrutiny if the accountability act was in force and in effect," he said. "So they got him in under the wire before these new rules kicked in."

Now note that Grouk was repeatedly elected by the people, not appointed by the government, throughout his career in public service. But is that his only qualification?

An air traffic controller, businessman and realtor, he has been an opposition critic of Transport, Public Works and Government Services, Labour, and Via Rail before retiring from politics at the dissolution of parliament prior to the 2006 federal election.

An air traffic controller? Opposition critic with the transportation portfolio? Sounds like he would know something about what Nav Canada does, and how it would fit in with the broader question of federally regulated transportation issues.

Who is he replacing?

The government controls three seats on the board of directors of Nav Canada, the private corporation that owns and operates Canada's civil air navigation service. It was forced to replace retiring board member Alan Martin. While the base salary for board members is $24,500, Mr. Martin earned $69,000 after adding up the fees for attending committee and board meetings.

Alan Martin is a chartered accountant. He is a senior partner of Alan Martin Associates, which provides accounting services for farms and such.

Not much to do with airplanes, air traffic control, or transportation in general.

Alan Martin's background?

Many years experience working with individuals, small and large industry, government related and non-for-profit organizations, as senior financial executive, Board member, analyst, auditor, consultant, and tax specialist. Former member of parliament; parliamentary assistant to Minister of Finance (Hon. Jean Chretien). Qualified Arbirator (Member Arbitration Institutes- Canada and Ontario).

So an air traffic controller who has never served with a sitting government throws in his resume and is appointed because, frankly, he can do the job. And of course, given that the board seat he will fill is one controlled by the government, of course the government will appoint someone who will support government policies.

Duh.

But he's also an air traffic controller, and not a chartered accountant who was a buddy with a former finance minister and prime minister.

Given that this was the case, this terrorist joke is really out of order:

Mr. Jean-Claude D'Amours (Madawaska—Restigouche, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, talk about a flip-flop. The members of the government can play holier than thou as much as they want, but Canadians will not be fooled. If, as it claims, the government is not making patronage appointments, then how does it explain the appointment of former Conservative member Jim Gouk to the board of NAV CANADA? Was the Prime Minister trying to help Mr. Gouk win the bet he made that he could take a weapon on board a commercial flight at any airport in the country? [emphasis added]

No, the Prime Minister was trying to best fufill his responsibility to find a board member of a corporation in charge of air traffic control. Finding a air traffic controller who has shown himself to be a skilled politician and who was dedicated to public service sounds like a great fit. To make light of the serious issue of airplane security is tasteless. I guess it didn't take long for the quality of debate to drop in this new sitting of parliament. Stephen Harper and Jim Grouk deserve better than that.