Less than two weeks after defending Bull Arm Corporation boss Joan Cleary over allegations a contract had been improperly let, natural resources minister Kathy Dunderdale announced suddenly in the House of Assembly today that she had sacked Cleary over questions about another tender.
A hastily drafted news release emerged from the provincial government at 5:35 pm today, over three hours after Dunderdale's announcement.
Dunderdale's announcement is a de facto admission that her previous defence of Cleary wasn't motivated by the facts but by something else like political expediency. Cleary - the former Tory candidate in Bellevue district - was appointed to the president's job despite her evident lack of qualifications and despite the fact Bull Arm Corp has survived for years without a senior executive.
The Liberal comments about Bull Arm being a haven of patronage are a little hypocritical given the record of appointing prominent Liberals to positions at the offshore fabrication site.
But the key point is that the current administration was supposed to do things differently.
So much for the New Approach...yet again.
