Vic Toews appointment by Harper government seems to set new standard for blatant patronage

Vic Toews appointment seems to set new standard for blatant patronage by Stephen Maher, Post Media News, March 7, 2014, Canada.com
In 2005 a Canwest News Service analysis found that more than 60 per cent of federal judicial appointees had donated to the party in the five years before their appointment.

Back in 2008, the Winnipeg Free Press reported that Toews had tired of federal politics and was looking to get appointed to the bench in Manitoba. Columnist Don Martin wrote then: “The mind reels. If the Conservatives under Harper stood for anything while in Official Opposition with Toews as the justice critic, it was a clean bench kept clear of patronage deadwood.” The blowback seemed to spook the government, and Toews stayed in cabinet, moving first to treasury board and then to public safety. He was rumoured to be seeking a way out, though, because he was weary of politics, particularly the tricky business of supervising the RCMP. But a second marriage, a young child and an expensive divorce meant that he needed a big paycheque.

I was told that the prime minister had quietly told him he could go to the bench, but there would have to be a six-month cooling off period. Toews pooh-poohed that kind of talk, chiding journalists for their unseemly speculation. But then he retired in the summer, and sure enough, nine months later, on Friday afternoon, the government appointed Toews to the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench.

He will make $288,100 a year, $51,000 more than the $236,900 he made as a cabinet minister, plus his MP pension, which ought to make those enormous alimony payments easier.

As Martin wrote in 2008: “It’s difficult to fathom why the Conservatives would risk so much political karma on such a move.”

It looks terrible. The bench should not be used as a retirement home for burnt out politicians. That’s what the Senate is for, and certain consular offices.

The Toews appointment — less than a year from cabinet table to the bench — seems to set a new standard for blatant patronage, which shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who has watched Harper appoint senators.

….we want the best on the bench, and when you throw partisan politics into the mix, you don’t get the best, you get the best-connected. [Emphasis added]

2014 03 07 Vic Toews appointed Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench

Refer also to:

2012 02 21: Vic Toews – You Were Warned: Identity of Vic Toews’ Mistress, Stacey Meek, Revealed

… Call Senator Terry Stratton and ask him if hiring Vic Toews’ mistress and paying her salary with Canadian tax dollars was a political favour, or “just a coincidence”. You may even be able to ask Stacey Meek herself, if she’s the one who picks up! Call 613-947-2224 or email email hidden; JavaScript is required

Or ask Joyce Bateman, the MP Stacey Meek works for. Call 613-992-9475 or email email hidden; JavaScript is required

Transcript here: http://pastebin.com/JbEFyGGh

And to those who say Mr. Toews’ personal life is not relevant to this debate: it became relevant when…

A) Vic Toews’ mistress was hired by the Government of Canada and paid with our tax dollars,

B) Vic used his former mistress and son as tools to paint himself as a devoted family man for political gain, and…

C) Vic Toews attempted to make it legal to steal the personal information of every Canadian citizen with an internet connection, including intimate details about their families.

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