Weir bows out of public service

Elizabeth Weir is officially bowing out of public service after spending almost two decades in politics and government.

Premier David Alward announced some minor changes among his senior civil servants on Wednesday, including the departure of Weir as the president and chief executive officer of the Efficiency New Brunswick.

Weir served as New Brunswick's NDP leader from 1988 to 2005 and was the party's only MLA from 1992 until 2005.

During her time inthe legislature, Weir was known for her quick wit in the daily question period and her parliamentary skills during contentious debates.

Despite her talent inside the legislature, she was never able to translate that skill or her personal popularity into additional NDP seats.

She left elected politics when former premier Bernard Lord appointed her as the first president and chief executive officer of Efficiency New Brunswick.

Weir has overseen the growth of the Crown corporation that is in charge of finding ways to get businesses and residences to become more energy efficient.

When Weir took over the corporation it had a budget of $8 million and it jumped to $22.9 million in 2010-11. The Department of Finance trimmed its budget to $17 million this year as every department has been forced to deal with small budget allocations.

Weir was also involved in aspecial panel led by David Ganong that endorsed the formerLiberal government's plan to sell NB Power to Hydro-Qubec.

Other civil service moves

Alward also announced that James Hughes, the deputy minister of Social Development, is leaving the civil service.

Hughes was recruited to join the civil service in 2007 after serving as the director general of the Old Brewery Mission, Montreal's largest homeless centre.

In a statement, Alward said Hughes "is moving on to new opportunities" and thanked him for "serving New Brunswickers and initiating new approaches to programming."

Hughes was the deputy minister of Social Development during the poverty reduction roundtable process.

The unique public engagement process was widely applauded by all of the groups that participated. It even received an endorsement by Alward, who was the opposition leader at the time of the final report.

With Hughes's departure, Edith Doucet, the current deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs, will become the deputy minister of Social Development.

Former Office of Human Resources deputy minister Ellen Barry's retirement from the civil service was also formally announced on Wednesday.

Further, Jocelyn Mills, who is an assistant deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs, will take over the department on an acting basis.

Douglas Holt, the deputy minister of energy, will assume Weir's responsibilities as the Crown corporation's acting president.

And Brian Durelle, an assistant deputy minister of the Office of Human Resources, is taking over the department in an acting role.

Finance Minister Blaine Higgs announced in his March budget the provincial government would trim the number of deputy ministers and senior civil servants.