Cleaning house.

Yeah, so I took a short vacation from this place -- sue me. Better yet, check out Steenblogen for an explanation. As usual, she sums things up better than I could.

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So John "The Bomb" Gomery released the second (and final) half of his report today. Interestingly enough, while most of his criticism was directed at elected officials, the majority of his recommendations seem to concern bureaucrats:

He recommended opening up deputy minister jobs to competition, bringing in private-sector candidates to compete for jobs that have traditionally be filled by public servants picked in "private discussions" between the Clerk and the Privy Council and the prime minister.

Taking the selection out of the hands of the prime minister should give deputy ministers more "independence" and less deferential to political direction, he said.

Fair enough. It's not like he's suggesting a privatization of the public sector and besides, opening up these positions to competition and levelling the playing field might dispel some of the mandarinic (it is too a word) miasma that infests the cloistered halls of federal bureaucracy.

On a related note, the release of the report has allowed Stephen Harper an opportunity to show off some of his finely-honed political skills. For instance, covering his ass:

Prime minister-designate Stephen Harper said most of Judge Gomery's recommendations were already covered in his promised Federal Accountability Act, which will be his first priority when sworn in next week.

Mr. Harper wouldn't, however, commit to implementing those that weren't in his plan. "Justice Gomery's recommendations will help shape the future direction of a more accountable government for all Canadians," he said

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All quotes are lifted from the National Post's article (will launch a new window).