I never pretended or suggested that. I simply pointed out what has always been one of the main criticisms of past Liberal governments, and according to a lot of what you say, I believe you know this. As per your first couple of lines "appointments are made when a position needs to be filled" I agree.In the thousands of appointments that you indicate Harper made, would then these be the same thing as you refer to ? If not Harper must have created new positions that never existed before . How many did he create, and what were they , as surely someone would have noticed.