Robert MacLeod and Margaret-Ann Blaney removed from deputy ministerial posts

Prime Minister Brian Gallant has used changes at the top of the civil service to dismiss two more senior government officials who were supporters of the previous Progressive Conservative Party administration.

On Monday, Gallant announced that Invest NB and Efficiency New Brunswick would be “shut down,” meaning Robert MacLeod and Margaret-Ann Blaney would soon lose their jobs.

MacLeod, who ran for the Conservative Party leadership against former prime minister David Alward in 2008 and was then appointed campaign manager in 2010, was chief executive of Invest NB.

Blaney was a longtime Progressive Conservative MLA and former cabinet minister who was tapped to become president and CEO of Efficiency New Brunswick, even though the Alward government eliminated the position by combining it with another position just weeks earlier.

Both Blaney and MacLeod were earning six-figure salaries, and both positions were widely viewed as patronage appointments.

Before Gallant was sworn in as prime minister in October, he told reporters that Alward had assured him that MacLeod and Blaney would be fired, along with six other deputy ministers who were closely associated with the Conservative Party.

However, when the Liberals took power, Blaney and MacLeod continued to hold their civil service positions.

The Prime Minister’s press release did not specify when Invest NB and Efficiency NB would close or what severance pay MacLeod and Blaney would receive.

On Monday, Gallant also announced that three deputy ministers will retire before the end of 2014.

Three deputy ministers were entrusted with new departments, while three other deputy ministers were assigned additional departments in addition to their existing positions.

Jean-Marc Dupuis has been appointed interim deputy minister of finance for the province, but will also retain his position as deputy minister of transport and infrastructure.

Denis Caron will become interim Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture and will also continue to serve as Deputy Minister of Economic Development.

Edith Doucet, the province’s deputy minister of social development, will also become interim deputy minister of healthy and inclusive communities.

According to a statement by the Prime Minister, Marc Léger, Secretary of the Executive Council, will take on the additional duties of deputy minister, which have so far been temporarily performed by politically appointed representatives of the Office of the Executive Council.

Gallant’s statement said there would be more changes at the senior level of the public service. He said there would be a restructuring that would reduce the number of departments, deputy ministers and other senior officials.