21 Jun Paving the way for Tories — feedback (cont.)

The anonymous senior official inside Transport Canada who responded to contrarian‘s revelation that the Harper Government steered Infrastructure Stimulus Plan paving projects to federal Tory ridings in Nova Scotia, responds to reader feedback:

What your readers may not know is that senior bureaucrats are moved at the behest of the Clerk of the Privy Council and approved by the Prime Minister — a subtle but important distinction.  They (we) are not Liberal appointees any more than the current crop are Conservative appointees. When the Liberals were in power, they were convinced that some deputies were closeted Conservatives (as many were/are).  It doesn’t matter. The job of the professional public servant is to give your minister the best possible advice, and then execute whatever they decide — and that may often be contrary to your advice. And this is what we do.

The problem with Baird and his minions is that they are ignoring the process in place to determine where the money should go — a process predicated by previous political scandals. The stink that is going to waft out of the “stimulus” project should make the Libs’ previous troubles seem minor in comparison.

A caution: Anonymous complaints should always be viewed skeptically. If our correspondent is indeed a senior federal Transport official, he or she has a credible reason for requesting anonymity: certain dismissal if unmasked. But that doesn’t prove she has no axe to grind, is telling the truth, or even holds the position she claims to. On balance, though, contrarian thinks the views expressed merit consideration.