My thoughts: as we have learnt in class a non-partisan bureaucracy is a key part of responsible government. I was surprised ot find out that the Government didn’t already have a system in place to ensure that an appointment was non-partisan. Clearly, with 31 appointments, Harper has been able to take advantage of the lack of accountability (as I’m sure past PMs have).
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/public-watchdog-urges-non-partisan-bureaucratic-appointments/article1951867/