A close friend of the Prime Minister’s has, for the third time, landed a government appointment, once again raising charges of patronage. John Weissenberger, a geologist described as a friend for life of the Prime Minister, was recently appointed to the board of directors for the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, an independent corporation tasked with distributing hundreds of millions in research funding. Two years ago, Weissenberger was named chief of staff to Diane Finley, then minister of citizenship and immigration, a position he took after stepping away from an appointment to the judicial advisory committee. “Harper never promised an end to patronage,” says NDP MP Pat Martin, “but he did promise an appointments review commission and that’s one of his biggest failures of his administration in my view.” Liberal Marc Garneau adds his concern, including an assertion that Weissenberger is an “outright denier” of climate change.