All three opposition leaders have now registered objections to the Conservatives' choice to head troubled arms-length agency Rights and Democracy, leaving the Harper government to decide if they'll break tradition to impose their pick.
NDP Leader Jack Layton released a letter today to Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon, arguing that a new president - Gerard Latulippe - won't be enough to fix the fractured rights agency, and Commons hearings need to be held first.
"We are deeply concerned by your government's desire to proceed with this appointment during prorogation, which demonstrates a lack of commitment to the principles of accountability, transparency and parliamentary oversight," Mr. Layton wrote.
"The problems relating to the Board of Directors of Rights & Democracy are complex and will not be adequately addressed by prematurely appointing Mr. Latulippe."
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe have already registered their objections, arguing that Mr. Latulippe - a former Canadian Alliance candidate and political colleague of Mr. Cannon when he was a Quebec Liberal MNA in the 1980s - is too partisan a pick.
The opposition leaders don't have the legal power to quash the appointment - but the government has a legal obligation to consult them, and traditionally won't appoint a candidate unless there's consensus.
Mr. Latulippe was an adviser Treasury Board President Stockwell Day when he was Canadian Alliance leader, but in a letter released Thursday Mr. Ignatieff noted that his resumé, released by the government, didn't mention that.
"It seems counterproductive, to say the least, to appoint as its president an individual like Mr. Latulippe who has such strong ties to the government and its ministers," Mr. Ignatieff wrote in a letter to Mr. Cannon.
The turmoil at Rights and Democracy exploded into public view after the Jan. 7 death of the arms-length agency's former president, Rémy Beauregard.
He clashed with board members over three small grants to Middle East human rights groups that some board members viewed as biased against Israel, sparking some to allege that the Conservatives packed the board with staunch pro-Israel directors.
Since his death, staffers have called for the firing of board members including chair Aurel Braun. Three staffers were suspended, and Mr. Braun and board allies have argued that a rogue staff is trying to escape accountability.
The Foreign Affairs Minister last week gave the board a vote of confidence when he proposed Mr. Latulippe as president, which only intensified allegations of partisan meddling at Rights and Democracy.
"Mr. Cannon, your government has demonstrated time and again that it aims to impose on our country's independent institutions the most extreme views espoused within your own political party," Mr. Ignatieff wrote in his response.
"This is not only contrary to the wishes of Canadians, it is contrary to the political traditions of our country."
The Liberal Leader's letter echoed some of the criticisms levelled by Mr. Duceppe, who said Mr. Latulippe's publicly-expressed opinions are too intolerant for the head of a human-rights agency.
Mr. Latulippe expressed opposition to gay marriage, and in a 2007 interview said he was concerned that immigrants from countries where religions aren't integrated are beginning to expect their practices to be adopted in Canada - referring to Hasidic Jews, Sikhs, and a "large portion of the Muslim community."
"The incompatibility of values has become a major problem in Europe, where the current population of 20 million Muslims will probably double by 2025," he said then.
Campbell Clark