Bill Eaton is gone.

bernard
Originally uploaded by Oldmaison.

Someone sent me this story this morning.

This is truly one appointment that I didn’t agree with.

As a matter of fact? I saw the guy last month walked into a fancy place and told someone of the apopoitment. Here’s the story -

Liberals cancel Tory's contract

Daniel McHardie
Telegraph-Journal
Published 2006-12-23 | Page A1

Environment Minister Roland Haché cancelled a well-paying contract to a former political aide to Brenda Fowlie who managed a recycling board that never existed.

About four months after Bill Eaton witnessed his boss resign from cabinet over a privacy breach in 2005, he became chief executive officer of the Multi-Material Stewardship Board, which was supposed to oversee the recycling of objects like paint, tires and electronics.

The former executive assistant was named to the post Nov. 7, 2005.

When the province's new Liberal environment minister examined Eaton's position he quickly terminated the job.

"I did not think taxpayers of New Brunswick got value for their money because if I would have thought so Mr. Eaton would still be working here," Haché said in an interview. "It's difficult for me to justify an employee of a board that doesn't exist. So I made my decision. It's nothing personal."

Rodney Weston, chief of staff to the official opposition, said it is ridiculous to think that Eaton just sat around and did nothing for all that time. Eaton is just being persecuted by the Liberals for being a former executive assistant to a Tory cabinet minister, Weston said.

"I would say these guys are bent on saying anyone who got a job as a Tory is a Tory," Weston said. "Come on, we've moved beyond that. These guys don't seem to have moved past that. It blows me away."

Eaton's position was never announced by former environment minister Trevor Holder. The only evidence was the discovery in the recent edition of the province's public accounts documents, released by the Office of the Comptroller, which lists government salaries.

The document shows Eaton earned $71,267, well above the normal scale for a ministerial executive assistant. He also racked up $27,879 in expenses. Over the course of a year, as the board's chief executive Eaton would have earned $92,664.

The Telegraph-Journal was unable to locate Eaton for an interview Friday.

When asked what Eaton did for that salary and large expense account, Haché had a tough time explaining, other than to say he prepared one document and travelled to other provinces to examine their recycling systems.

"A 17-page report to me in one year and a payband 10 for an employee of a board that doesn't exist, to me, seems very minimal," Hache said.

This is the second Conservative loyalist who landed in a position that was shielded from the public's view and to a board or commission that did not exist.

Win Hackett, a former chief of staff to Richard Hatfield, made almost $75,000 in salary and expenses as executive director for the Provincial Capital Commission, more than a year before it was announced. Kelly Lamrock, the minister responsible for the Provincial Capital Commission, terminated Hackett's contract when he said he found "no tangible evidence" of what was produced by the former employee.

Coincidentally, both Hackett and Eaton were paid by the Department of Environment and Local Government.

Haché said he takes full responsibility for the decision to release Eaton from his job, but he said any explanation as to why these appointments were made so secretly must be directed toward the previous Conservative government.

"You have the facts yourself, the deputy minister at the time you know who he was," the minister said referring to Hermel Vienneau, a former chief of staff to Bernard Lord who Haché defeated twice in the Nigadoo-Chaleur riding. "These were decisions that were not taken under this government. The decision that was taken under this government was that we would terminate that employment because there wasn't any board."

Weston said that Haché's actions show that he can't separate his current job from past political battles.

"The minister of the day ran against the fellow who was the deputy minister in two past elections," Weston said. "Any time Mr. Vienneau came before public accounts, whether it was (the Regional Development Corporation) or Environment and Local Government Mr. Haché took a level of interest that he didn't have in every department," Weston said. "There is bad blood."

The Department of Environment is still interested in establishing the Multi-Material Stewardship Board, but Haché said when he does it there will be "better management" and employees won't be hired until the board exists.