To begin, first of all, I think when there's a transition in government, especially after one government has been in place for a very long time, there's always a tension about a new government wanting to bring in a new sense of direction, a new agenda, and new priorities, and expecting that agenda and those priorities will be reflected not only in government departments headed by ministers but also in key agencies headed by holders of those offices. There's a debate there about how far a government can go in doing so, but it's typical in any sort of major transition.
If you go back to 1957 when Prime Minister Diefenbaker came in after a long Liberal period, and then again to Prime Minister Mulroney in 1984 and Prime Minister Chrétien in 1993, these are all transitions in which you have, after a lengthy time in office for one government, a new government coming in. I think it's legitimate for that government to want to be able to steer a different course and expect those agencies that are not of a quasi-judicial nature or an independent arm's-length nature to steer that different course and put leadership in those agencies to reflect that different course. I think that's legitimate in a democracy.
My experience in two years in this government is that the prime concern is qualifications and making sure we attract qualified candidates. It's becoming more and more difficult. The pay rates for these agencies--especially for crown corporations, which are compared to their commercial counterparts in the private sector--are lagging behind the private sector. There is actually a difficulty in attracting qualified candidates, because the economy has been very strong for the past 10 years and private sector salaries have outstripped public sector salaries by a large margin.
The challenge is to find qualified people. There may be anecdotal evidence, but I haven't seen any systematic attempt to impose an ideological brand on the selection process for these appointments. Rather, it's making sure we can attract qualified people, especially for the key positions, which are the heads of the agencies.