The opposition is raising questions about why some Liberal-appointed diplomats were asked to resign voluntarily after the arrival of the new Conservative government.
Sources say that Pamela Wallin, Canadian consul-general in New York, and others viewed as political appointees were asked for letters of resignation soon after the transition team began work at the end of January. However, with the exception of then-ambassador to Washington Frank McKenna and outgoing ambassador to the United Nations Alan Rock, there has been little follow-up.
CTV News reported over the weekend that at least five current diplomats received calls from the Department of Foreign Affairs suggesting they may wish to resign in light of the change in government.
They included Mario Laguë, ambassador to Costa Rica and a former communications director to former prime minister Paul Martin; Patrick Parisot, ambassador to Portugal and a close friend and former aide to prime minister Jean Chrétien; Stan Keyes, a minister in former prime minister Paul Martin's cabinet who is Canadian consul-general in Boston; and Bhupinder Liddar, a former magazine editor who worked for the Progressive Conservative Party in the late 1970s and early 1980s but was appointed to a diplomatic post in Kenya through the lobbying of his close friend and then-Liberal cabinet minister Herb Dhaliwal.
Liberal foreign affairs critic Stéphane Dion said the requests come across like a "witch hunt" by the Tory government to root out Liberals from the foreign service.
New Democratic Party MP Alexa McDonough said the change would be acceptable if the new government was planning to replace political appointees with career diplomats, but she suspects the government is planning political appointments of its own.
"I'd be surprised if there aren't a lot of people saying this is just pure pettiness," she said.
Ms. McDonough said she particularly objects to putting any pressure on Mr. Liddar, who faced a two-year battle with Canada's spy agency after he was originally refused the necessary security clearance.
A spokesman for Foreign Affairs said he was not aware of any such calls being made.
Ms. Wallin expects to complete her term, which was scheduled to conclude this summer.
"She has mentally packed her bags," said one source close to her. She is looking at opportunities in New York and Toronto.
Ms. Wallin is highly regarded in the cross-border business community as an energetic and effective communicator for Canada's economic and security interests.
She has promoted closer security ties between Canada and the United States and was impatient with the former Liberal government's penchant for scoring political points by bashing the administration of President George W. Bush.
Bill Curry