Former NDP candidate new communications director for Department of Education

A former NDP candidate with ties to Education Minister Dale Kirby is now communications director for Kirby's department.

Christopher Pickardwas namedTuesday as the new director of communications for the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

Pickardran for the provincial NDP in 2011 at the encouragement of Kirby, who is now his boss.

In 2014, Pickardwas also on handwhen Kirby and another New Democrat MHA Christopher Mitchelmore werewelcomed into the Liberal party after splitting from the NDP.

"Dale is certainly somebody who encouraged me to get involved [with the NDP] and I followed him along the way and I'm following his leadership integrity, and I think is a good move for Dale," saidPickardat the time.

Other appointments

The government also announced longtime communications staffer John Tompkins was the new communicationsdirector for Environment and Climate Change, filling a vacancy in that department.

Lauren Wiseman moved from Education and Early Childhood Development to fill Tompkins' previous role as director of communications for Advanced Education Skill and Labour, which left the vacancy that Pickard filled.

I didn't confer with the minister when I put him there. That's normally not the process.- Carla Foote

Carla Foote, associate secretary to cabinet communications and ultimately responsible for communications hiring,said she was not aware of any relationship between Pickard and Kirby, and noted Pickard was hired under proper hiring practices. In this case, Pickard was hired for a 13-week contract, which is not required to be filled under a public posting.

"(It's a) 13-week hire, and that will go to competition as is required by the public service," she told CBC on Tuesday. "It's no different than any other temporary hire that happens in government."

Resum on file

Foote said Pickardhad applied for a previous position and his resum was on file.

"We have a pool of resums from interested individuals that will contact executive council looking for work, and his resum was on his file, so he was considered from that pool of individuals," she said, adding that Kirby was not consulted in Pickard's hiring.

"It was my decision to put him there," she said. "I didn't confer with the minister when I put him there. Normally, that's not the process. When executive council assigns a communications director, it is based on the need of the department, and the director reports to the deputy minister, not the minister."

Foote said the government will soon issue a public posting for anyone interested in filling any vacant positions in communications.

"We do have other vacancies that exist right now, so that will go out, and anyone in the public who's interested in applying for any vacancies can do that, and that should be out in the next couple of weeks."