When the cabinet seizes control of what is supposed to be a parliamentary democracy, you get an announcement that the government is appointing a "staunch Tory" to be chief electoral officer.
The root of the current problem goes back to the House of Assembly scandal when the Premier, not the Speaker, seized control of the issue and started to manage the whole thing from the Premier's Office. Contrary to his public protestations, the Premier has been running the show ever since.
In the current situation, if for some reason the House doesn't approve him, the staunch Tory will continue to serve in an acting capacity.
Why wasn't this supposedly non-partisan position recruited through a non-partisan process through the House of Assembly?
And by what authority will the "staunch Tory" get to keep his job even if the legislature finds him unsuitable?
Chuck Furey's appointment was bad enough.
This announcement completely destroys any pretense that the government is accountable to the House of Assembly in any manner whatsoever.
What's say we just skip the fall election and save a bundle of cash using the Yeltsin solution.
After all, when a "staunch Tory" is appointed by a Tory government to a supposedly non-partisan position overseeing an election, it really doesn't take much imagination to figure out that the whole democracy thing has become a sick joke.
