Liberals walk out as Tory-dominated Commons approves Ferguson appointment as AG

OTTAWA – The Conservative government has used its majority to formally approve the appointment of Michael Ferguson as auditor general.

The House of Commons endorsed Ferguson by a vote of 153-94, without the participation of the Liberals who walked out en masse to protest the appointment of a non-French-speaking candidate to the job.

Ferguson was later endorsed by the Tory-dominated Senate as well, in a vote boycotted by Liberal senators.

Ferguson says he’s studying to improve his French and promises to be proficient within a year.

Ferguson spent five years as New Brunswick’s auditor general, a year as deputy finance minister and was also provincial comptroller.

Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae says Ferguson nevertheless falls short of the posted qualifications for the job of watchdog over federal government spending.

“The role of the AG is not to simply sit in a back room with a calculator,” said Rae. “The auditor general must be a communicator.

“When you can only communicate in one official language, you alienate those who speak the other. The Conservative nomination process has been mired in flaws and the Liberal caucus will not validate that process with even a no-vote.”