P.E.I. rolls out changes to provincial senior management

Premier Wade MacLauchlan announced changes to provincial senior management Tuesday.

The changes will see women take on six of the 13 highest roles, "achieving gender equity at the highest level of the public service while further streamlining the number of executive positions," according to a written release.

Retirements

• Brian Douglas, clerk of executive council, will retire June 20.
• Steven MacLean, deputy minister of Communities, Land and Environment, will retire June 20.

New roles

• Paul Ledwell, deputy minister of policy and priorities, will assume the position of clerk of executive council in addition to his existing duties.
• Michele Dorsey, who currently serves as deputy minister of Justice and Public Safety, will assume the role of deputy minister of Communities, Land and Environment.
• Erin Mitchell, whose current role is director of justice policy and privacy services, will serve as the new deputy minister of Justice and Public Safety.
• Luanne Gallant has been confirmed as the CEO of the WorkersCompensation Board, a role she has filled since July 2015.
• Dr. Kim Critchley will take up her duties as deputy minister of Health and Wellness beginning July 15. Dr. Heather Morrison will continue as acting deputy minister until that time.

Not the 'new way of doing business'

The official Opposition criticized what it called the Liberal's government's "patronage" appointments.

"This isn't the new way of doing business that was promised by the premier," Leader Jamie Fox said in a written release.

"This is the same kind of old-school pork barrelling that Islanders came to expect from Robert Ghiz. In some cases the appointments even involve the same individuals. It looks pretty clear that the only change in this government's appointment process was changing the name of the program from Participate PEI to Engage PEI."

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