MONTREAL – Former Parti Québécois leader André Boisclair has renounced his permanent status in the public service as he takes on the post of Quebec’s delegate-general to New York after opposition parties complained a political appointee was being handed a lifetime job.
Premier Pauline Marois said while she remains convinced Boisclair has all the expertise and talent to warrant the job security and perks of a high-level civil servant, she nevertheless accepted his offer to refuse her offer after critics called it “indecent” and a “golden parachute.”
Marois also announced the creation of a committee to study the issue of recruiting and retaining high-calibre candidates to the highest echelons of the public service in the wake of the controversy.
“I absolutely do not want my government to be attacked on questions of ethics,” she said at a snap press conference held at her office Thursday morning.
Boisclair, who preceded Marois as PQ leader, was named to the plum diplomatic post after Marois’s minority government was elected Sept. 4. But the news release announcing his appointment did not mention a government decree that he also get the title of associate deputy-minister in the international affairs department.
Usually diplomats serve at the pleasure of the government of the day, but in Boisclair’s case his civil service status meant he would get job security and a generous public sector pension on top of his $170,000 annual salary.
Québec Solidaire leader Françoise David and Coaltion Avenir Québec leader François Legault both denounced the move.
Marois maintained Thursday that Boisclair deserves the generous package.
But she said the controversy raised important issues that she believes warrant further study by a three-person expert panel, including: remuneration, job security and the latitude a government at the end of its mandate has to renew the contracts of high-level public service.
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