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Feds fire Enterprise Cape Breton boss John Lynn for patronage hirings

WATCH: Integrity Commissioner Mario Dion said he’s happy the government moved so swiftly to remove Lynn

OTTAWA – The federal government says it is firing the suspended CEO of Enterprise Cape Breton Corp. after a report tabled Tuesday in the House of Commons concluded that he breached the Crown agency’s code of conduct by hiring four people with ties to the Conservative party.

Rob Moore, the minister of state for Enterprise Cape Breton Corp., says he has taken steps to terminate John Lynn’s employment following the report by the federal integrity commissioner.

In his report, Mario Dion said Lynn hired four people in 2009-10 without showing that there was a formal hiring process or that their appointments were based on merit.

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Lynn could not immediately be reached for comment.

Dion’s report says without a comprehensive explanation from Lynn, the commissioner determined there was an element of deliberateness to his actions that could reasonably be expected to create a perception of patronage within the federal public sector.

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Dion says in the report that while Lynn’s appointment decisions were inconsistent with good governance standards, they did not amount to gross mismanagement nor did they affect the ability of Enterprise Cape Breton to carry out its mandate to promote development in that region.

WATCH: During Question Period in the House of Commons Monday, Rob Moore, the Minister of State for Atlantic Canada, was questioned about the scandal at ECBC

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