OTTAWA — It is hardly surprising that Mary Ng saw nothing wrong with the patronage contracts awarded on two occasions to her friend, Amanda Alvaro.
After all, the international trade minister became an MP thanks to the patronage of her close friendship with the prime minister’s chief of staff, Katie Telford.
In 2017, John McCallum stepped down as the MP for Markham-Thornhill to become Canada’s ambassador in China. A number of local candidates emerged, including Juanita Nathan and Nadeem Qureshi. Nathan said she was requested to step aside to allow Ng, then director of appointments in the PMO, to win the nomination. Qureshi said he felt the process was unfair and that timelines were truncated to allow a candidate from outside the riding to win. The spokesperson who defended Ng from allegations of nepotism was … Amanda Alvaro.
Aside from the hypocrisy — Trudeau was elected on a commitment to open up the nomination process — it was an early indication of the cronyism that has become a hallmark of this government.
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