Iqaluit (Dec 01/04) - The appointment of former Qulliq Energy Corp. board member Anne Crawford as president and the return of Ed Picco as minister responsible for QEC isn't sitting well with two Nunavut MLAs.

In the legislative assembly Nov. 19, Rankin Inlet North MLA Tagak Curley questioned Premier Paul Okalik about Crawford's appointment.

"Why wasn't the position put out to competition?" Curley asked.

While the government has gone through the competition process for the same position in the past, current time constraints would not allow for advertising, Okalik said.

"We felt that at this time the individual we appointed is the most capable," said Okalik.

He said he was offended by a comment Curley made concerning the appearance of patronage.

Outside the legislative assembly Curley did not seem satisfied with Okalik's response.

"This appearance of giving favours to friends is really not the way this government should be going," said Curley, who wants the government to establish hiring criteria for top administrative positions.

Iqaluit Centre MLA Hunter Tootoo was also concerned about the changes.

He noted that Crawford and Picco had been involved with the QEC since its beginning. "They knew there were problems there, but they didn't know exactly where they were. I think giving the corporation a bail-out of $14 million was a good indication that there were some problems," Tootoo said during the Nov. 23 oral question period.

While he does not see Crawford's appointment as a sign of patronage, Tootoo thinks new solutions are needed to address the corporations problems.

"They couldn't fix it then. What makes them think they can fix it now?" Tootoo asked outside the assembly.

While the premier talks with ministers, deputy ministers and chief executive officers before making appointments for senior executive positions, they are ultimately his decision.