Hand-picking advisers blatant abuse of power

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor Cecil Clarke’s proposal to hand-pick a policy adviser is outrageous and cannot be allowed to go forward. That, as well as the plan to hire at least one communication adviser to speak on behalf of the CBRM council, is insulting to our elected representatives and will interfere with transparency in the future.

The mayor was elected on the promise to deal with the growing debt, and now he plans to handpick personal advisers without a transparent and honest job search. This is wrong.

Clarke seems to see nothing wrong with this type of patronage. After all, he was handed a job with the Cape Breton County Economic Development Authority, without a job posting, at the rate of $135,000 a year — a job that only required him to work 29 hours a week.

The sad reality is that we live in a community that is shrinking at a rate of four to five per cent a year. Just a few years ago, there were 117,000 residents in the CBRM; now we have fewer than 97,000. Does this sound like a municipality that needs to create phoney jobs?

We also face an unprecedented attack on our civil service. Cape Breton faces the most malicious cuts, compared to the rest of the country.

Led by the mayor, it would be a good time for council to speak out against more than 270 lost civil service jobs. Sadly, some of these cuts affect the very people who fought wars to ensure our freedom.

I trust this council will stand up against any blatant abuse of power. Clarke must be made aware that the CBRM is not his personal kingdom. It belongs to the citizens, and we elected councillors to speak for us without the interference of a communication adviser. D. Victor Tomiczek Dominion