Questions Remain About Minister Orazietti’s Public Appointments

QUEEN’S PARK – Ontario PC Critic for Government and Consumer Services Jim McDonell (Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry) continued questioning the Minister of Government and Consumer Services today regarding the Minister’s dubious public appointments practices revealed in a leaked document.

“It appears that Minister Orazietti or his office gave direction to public servants to appoint an individual to the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) who should not have been eligible for that appointment process,” MPP McDonell stated. “The real estate profession elects a majority of the Board from within their ranks. The Minister’s own appointees have to come from outside the profession in order to represent consumer interests and bring a different perspective to the Board. The Minister had been made aware of this practice in his briefings, and he chose to ignore it.”

The leaked e-mail chain includes a quote from Frank Denton, Assistant Deputy Minister, who commented: “I appreciate that we take direction but I believe MGCS needs to give best advice on why this new practice may not be optimal.”

Prospective applicants to agencies, boards and commissions submit a simple application form to the Public Appointments Secretariat, who then screen and vet applications. As the Sault Star noted in a recent article, the person who Minister Orazietti reportedly wanted to appoint to RECO had not even put their name forward to the Secretariat.

“This isn’t just patronage, it’s patronage with disregard for consumer protection,” MPP McDonell added. “Rather than own up to his actions and make amends, the Minister chooses to throw his officials and staff under the bus for simply doing their jobs. We should expect more from a Government Minister.”