Last week, former premier Paul Davis was calling out Premier Ball for being “shamelessly hypocritical” in his appointments of Deputy Ministers,“while calling Liberal Party friends in through the back door and handing them key ‘nonpartisan’ posts on the payroll of the province.”

He was referring to hires like:

George Joyce: Former Liberal candidate (and cousin of Minister Eddie Joyce)
Lynn Sullivan: Former Liberal candidate
Paula Walsh: Former Liberal candidate
Ted Lomond: Former Liberal Party Executive Member
Tony Grace: Former Liberal Political Assistant in the Tobin Era
Carla Foote: Former Liberal Political Assistant (and daughter of Federal Minister Judy Foote)
Lauren Wiseman: Former Liberal Political Assistant

This week, NDP leader Earle McCurdy is saying the Provincial Government violated its own Independent Appointments Commission legislation when it appointed a number of Deputy and Assistant Deputy Ministers last week.

McCurdy says the definition of “appointments” in the Act is very clear, and that Cabinet derives its authority to appoint Deputy Ministers and Assistant Deputy Ministers from the following statutory provision contained in Section 9 of the Executive Council Act:

9. (1)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council  on the advice of the Premier may appoint for each department, to hold office during pleasure, those deputy ministers and those assistant deputy ministers that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary for the proper conduct of the business of the department.”

“The Executive Council Act is a statutory provision, so appointments made under the authority of that Act must go through the Independent Appointments Commission,” McCurdy said. “In other words, the narrative the Liberals are pushing, that the IAC applies only to government Boards, Agencies and Commissions, is totally contradicted by their own legislation.”