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«« Gagliano Canadian Alliance MP Brian Pallister called on the Prime Minister to rescind Alfonso Gagliano's appointment as ambassador to Denmark Friday, calling it another example of Liberal patronage. It was the harshest criticism yet of the appointment of the former Public Works Minister, who was mired in controversy over allegations that he had helped friends get jobs when he was the minister in charge of Crown corporation Canada Lands Co. Mr. Pallister, the Alliance foreign affairs critic, said the promotion is "destructive" to the Canadian Foreign Service. "There are many talented and dedicated Canadian diplomats who merit the title of ambassador, and those personnel are demoralized when they are passed over in favour of an unqualified political appointee," Mr. Pallister said in Ottawa. Mr. Pallister said even if Mr. Gagliano is cleared of the allegations against him, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien showed patronage in appointing him because he is not qualified to be an ambassador. However, ambassadors are appointed, while foreign diplomats, to be considered for one of the approximately 1,000 positions, must have at least two university degrees, or a degree and a difficult foreign language such as Russian, and must pass an entrance exam. Because their wages are low (starting salary is $36,000), many say they are unhappy with that wage and would like to leave their posts. The foreign affairs critic said it is becoming increasingly difficult to fill foreign service positions. "We depend on increasing numbers of non-Canadians to fill jobs once performed by Canadians at our embassies abroad." The posting of Mr. Gagliano was seen by many as a coup for a minister who was facing allegations of patronage and meddling in the affairs of the crown corporations he oversaw. However, Mr. Gagliano has been cleared of any wrongdoing by Liberal-appointed ethics counsellor Howard Wilson, who said last week that he would not investigate further the allegations of wrongdoing. Mr. Wilson also declined to investigate further the allegations by former Canada Lands head Jon Grant that that he had to fight repeated attempts by the minister's office to interfere with his duties. |