Transformational Independence

When Shawn Graham was elected in 2006 with almost a plurality of the vote, he promised to honour that landslide victory by delivering transformational change.

With his recent appointment of a six-person independent panel to review the Hydro Quebec deal - he has once again delivered on that promise.

Instead of relying on the stodgy old definition of "independent" to refer to people who are at arms-length from Government or who have no appearance of a conflict of interest, Premier Graham has decided to go in a completely transformational other direction.

1. In answer to the concern that the Hydro Quebec deal was written for the benefit of big business, Premier Graham has decided to appoint David Ganong, the CEO of Ganong Chocolates to be the Chair of the Independent Committee. And hey, it has been several months since Shawn Graham gave David Ganong a $2 million loan so he could hire 50 more people at his chocolate factory. (see Smiling Shawn and Dave here: http://www.gnb.ca/cnb/news/bnb/2008e0565bn.htm)

2. What?! Most Premiers would only appoint one major industrialist to an independent review panel? Well not Transformation Man Graham. Here comes Allison McCain the Chairman of McCain International to provide some more balance to the committee.

3. But what about Dr. John McLaughlin, the recently retired President of UNB? Good news - he also fits into Premier Graham's transformed definition of independent - because McLaughlin is not only a charter member of the New Brunswick Business Council but he also used to report to David Ganong who is the Chair of the UNB Board of Governors. How's that for arms-length?

4. By now you are wondering - how can this panel of transformationalists exist without at least one environmental activist? Thank goodness Premier Shawn was able to convince Dr. Louis LaPierre to join the group - he's a world renowned biologist and the former Chair of Sustainable Development at the University of Moncton - also known as the Irving Chair because it is named after KC Irving.

5. Of course, no independent committee would be complete without a member who has so many Liberal appointments to his name that it groans with disbelief - enter Gilles Lepage. Who he? It's not possible to repeat here all the posts the Liberals have appointed him to over the years, but currently he is both the Chair of the NB Pension Investment Management Corporation as well as being the Vice-Chair of Facilicorp, another Crown Corporation. Phew - it's hard being a Liberal appointee.

6. And finally there is Elizabeth Weir. Let's just make it clear, we here at the NB Conservative love Elizabeth - everybody does. And we certainly don't believe that she will be any less independent just because she reports to Energy Minister Jack Keir who is also the Minister responsible for Efficiency NB - the crown corporation that she heads up.

So there you have it - the most transformationally independent review panel in the history of New Brunswick. Where some Premiers would be bending over backwards to appoint people who don't even have a whiff of conflict - New Brunswick stands apart. Shawn Graham could have appointed people like retired Supreme Court Judges or the President of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants - but no. Major industrialists, environmentalists, people who report to the Minister of Energy - that's the panel to review the deal to sell NB Power - the new transformational way.

PS - Just one more for the tin hat folks out there - Gilles Lepage was also the Co-author of the Self-Sufficiency Report in 2007. Who was the other co-author? None other than Francis McGuire, who was recently appointed the Chairman of NB Power.