Ministerial staff asked to develop blacklists in lead-up to shuffle: source

Above: Global National’s Jacques Bourbeau and chief political correspondent Tom Clark react to the changes made during the cabinet shuffle.

OTTAWA – In the lead-up to Monday’s cabinet shuffle, ministerial staffers were asked to develop lists of troublesome bureaucrats and “enemy” stakeholders, Global News has learned.

The information was to be included in a transition binder traditionally prepared for incoming ministers.

Global News has obtained a July 4 email written by Erica Furtado, an executive assistant with issues management in the Prime Minister’s Office, with the subject line “Transition Binder Check List”.

In the e-mail, Furtado lists 10 items that need to be addressed in the transition binders. See a scan of the actual email below.

A source provided the internal email to Global News, saying Furtado sent it following a meeting of the issues management team in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Essentially, ministerial staff was asked to develop a “blacklist” of public servants and stakeholders, the source said.

When the source and some others in their office protested putting such lists together, the group was labelled “political unreliable” and cut off from further communications on the matter, the source said.

Later on July 4, Furtado sent a follow-up email noting that item six on the checklist – fingering troublesome bureaucrats – was “no longer required.”

Examples for the stakeholder “enemies” included environmental groups, non-profits, and civic and industry associations with views that don’t run parallel to the Conservative agenda, the source explained.

The source said the  PMO also  made a verbal request that ministerial staff  come up with a list of “enemy reporters,” but the request was subsequently withdrawn.

A spokesman from the prime minister’s office denied they ever requested a list of enemy reporters, but said the rest of the checklist is normal procedure for staff to assist in the transition of a new minister.