The wrong way of communicating

While some provinces are trying to win Harper's favour through public attention and the media, others are looking at other ways to try to influence federal policy:

Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm was set to officially open the province's new office in Ottawa on Monday in a bid to improve communication with the federal government...

Last month, Hamm appointed Ian Thompson to head the office. Thompson, a prominent Tory supporter, is set to earn $130,000 a year and receive a living allowance...

Prince Edward Island has taken the idea in another direction, asking prime minister-designate Stephen Harper to set up an office in P.E.I.

The Nova Scotia model seems particularly questionable in the degree to which it's apparently created a plush job to be handed out on a political basis. (Surely after spending the bulk of the last year hearing about Gomery, there should be at least some shame about such partisan appointments, particularly if there's some appearance of benefitting the federal government as well in rewarding one of its supporters.) And while the P.E.I. proposal at least doesn't add lobbying to the problems associated with partisan appointments, it too seems all too likely to turn into a way for Harper to reward his own supporters in the province, with any real policy influence ranking a distant second in the visible effects.

There's undoubtedly a need to ensure communication between the provinces and the federal government, and it's understandable that both Nova Scotia and P.E.I. want to make sure that they're heard within the new government. But surely there's a way to ensure that dialogue is on merit-based grounds rather than partisan ones...lest a brand-new culture of partisan entitlement become the standard for federal-provincial relations.