Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon nominated former Quebec Liberal politician Gérard Latulippe on Monday to head the troubled Montreal-based human rights organization Rights and Democracy.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon nominated former Quebec Liberal politician Gérard Latulippe on Monday to head the troubled Montreal-based human rights organization Rights and Democracy. (Pawel Dwulit/Canadian Press)

The minister also backed Rights and Democracy's government-appointed board of directors, saying the Canadian government "has complete trust" in the board's ability to manage the agency, despite accusations by agency staff of political interference.

Latulippe, currently the resident director of the National Democratic Institute in Haiti, sat with Cannon as a Liberal in the Quebec legislature. He lost his bid for a federal seat in 2000 while representing the now defunct Canadian Alliance.

The federal government is now consulting opposition leaders on Latulippe's candidacy, Cannon said, adding he is the "ideal candidate to return Rights and Democracy to the promotion of Canadian values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law."

The agency has been beleaguered by controversy, internal division and infighting, with agency staff accusing the federal government of attempting to gag the agency's criticism of actions taken by Israel in last year's military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Created by the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney in 1988 to encourage democracy and monitor human rights around the world, Rights and Democracy is supposed to operate at arm's length from government.

Tories turned respected agency into 'chaos': Ignatieff

Problems began last year, however, after the Conservative government appointed new board members.

The new members challenged grants being made to three human rights organizations known to be critical of Israel's human rights record, especially during the Israeli offensive in the Palestinian coastal territory.

Federal opposition politicians and the family of former president Rémy Beauregard, who died of a heart attack in January, are calling for an independent inquiry into the organization.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said he was disappointed with the nomination of Latulippe. He said the Conservatives have politicized an internationally recognized human rights organization and “turned it upside down,” pitting board members against staff.

“The place has been in chaos and now their solution is to appoint an ex-Alliance party candidate," Ignatieff told reporters in Moncton. "You think that’s going to solve the problem? I think that’s going to make the problem worse.”

Since Beauregard's death, almost every staff member of Rights and Democracy has signed a letter stating non-confidence in the interim president and two board members.

Three senior staff members have been suspended with pay and have hired a constitutional lawyer to plead their case, arguing political interference. The board members have also hired legal counsel.