June 11, 1996
(Forest Resources and Agrifoods)

The following statement issued today by Beaton Tulk, Minister of Forest Resources and Agrifoods. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

Ministerial Statement - Clarification regarding hiring of employee at Newfoundland Farm Products

I rise to set the record straight on the story in this morning's news broadcast with respect to the hiring of a temporary market representative for Newfoundland Farm Products Corporation for the western part of the province.

May I first say that the information which I will now provide was all given to the CBC reporter by me over the telephone last evening. I will leave it to my colleagues in this House to judge the manner in which the reporter chose to use this information in this morning's broadcast.

The incumbent in the permanent position of market representative for Newfoundland Farm Products for the western part of the province was injured in a motor vehicle accident and is still in the process of recovering.

In light of this situation the management of Farm Products decided that they would hire a replacement market representative on a temporary basis until such time as the permanent incumbent returned to active duty. With this in mind, the position was advertised for a period of six months employment.

The ad for the temporary position was posted in the office of Farm Products on April 19, 1996 in accordance with the requirements of the collective agreement. At the same time an ad was placed in the Western Star requesting applications.

As a result of the above 28 applications were received by the Corner Brook office of Farm Products. A selection committee was then put in place by the management of Farm Products for the purpose of screening the applications and carrying out interviews. The committee consisted of:

Mr. Gary Corcoran, Director of Human Resources, St. John's Office, Farm Products
Mr. Don Keats, Human Resource Officer with the Corner Brook Plant, Farm Product
Mr. Gary White, Manager of the Corner Brook Plant, Farm Products.

The original 28 candidates were screened down to three to be interviewed. As a result of the interview process, Mr. Don Johnson was chosen by the committee as being the best qualified candidate for the position and was hired.

The above account of the hiring process followed has been confirmed for me by the chief executive officer of Farm Products and my deputy minister. It demonstrates clearly to any objective person that the decision to hire Mr. Don Johnson was made after a fair and objective competition process. There was no political influence or interference in this recruitment process by the premier, myself or any of my colleagues on this side of the House or by any other person on our behalf. Indeed, neither the premier nor I had any knowledge of the competition or the fact that Mr. Johnson had been hired until after the fact.

Also in relation to this competition, NAPE has lodged a policy grievance with Newfoundland Farm Products alleging the sales officer (marketing position) was not posted in readily accessible places to bargaining unit employees. This grievance is now going through the normal grievance process. I should emphasize this grievance relates to a long standing dispute between NAPE and Newfoundland Farm Products as to the application of the public service hiring process to Farm Products. It has nothing to do with the process followed or the candidate chosen in this particular instance.

Mr. Johnson should not have and did not receive any preferential treatment in applying for the position with Farm Products because of his political affiliation, neither should he be excluded from consideration because of his political affiliation in a fair and open competition such as that which I have outlined above.

Again, I want to bring to my colleagues' attention that all of the above information was given to the reporter when I was contacted on this story last evening. I can only but question the objectivity of the reporter in the way he chose to present the facts of this matter to the public.

Mr. Don Johnson's reputation, in my opinion, has been brought into question. He is a city councillor, in a position of public trust; has a business reputation to protect; and, has endured personal grief.

In conclusion, there is no specific evidence of political interference on behalf of Mr. Johnson. Those who say otherwise should apologize.