Partners in crime

It's hard to disagree with JimBobby's suspicion that there's far more going on at AECL than the Cons have made public to this point. But let's add one more point to the mix which doesn't seem to have received much attention.

In announcing the new chair of AECL, the Cons seem to have gone out of their way to label Glenna Carr as a "a former civil servant in the Ontario government" rather than going into any more detail about her background. But let's take a closer look at her area of specialty.

Prior to her appointment by the McGuinty government, Carr was a consultant specializing in large part in public-private partnerships. And while working as a consultant, she received a National Award from the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships - in part based on the following background:

She championed the formation of PPP's as a Deputy Minister in the Ontario Government, establishing the Board of the Ontario Training Corporation and the Board and agreement for Teranet Land Information Services Ltd. As Vice President of Laidlaw Inc. (1992 – 95), she participated in environmental and community transportation partnerships in North America. She was a founding Board Director and Chair of the Technical Standards and Safety Authority and served on the Board of CCPPP from 1993-2000 and later as President between 1996 and 1998.

Of course, her recent appointment to work for Dalton McGuinty may avoid any particular partisan stench. But from an ideological standpoint, the Cons look to have picked as strong an advocate for privatization (with enough "partnership" to leave the risk in the public sector) as they could possibly have found. Which can only give one more reason to worry that the fix has been in for a cut-rate sale of AECL all along.