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OTTAWA The Conservative government rejected the findings of independent headhunters last year on the hiring of a new chair for Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., picking instead a partisan fundraiser who abruptly left last week during the isotope crisis.

Jean-Pierre Soubliere, who was the acting chair of AECL in late 2005, said in an interview yesterday he was certain he was twice selected by the independent panel to become the permanent chairman of the board.

The first selection process was launched under the Liberal government of Paul Martin, but the nomination did not proceed because of the 2006 election.The incoming Harper government did not like the results of that process and launched a second one, which also recommended Mr. Soubliere, an Ottawa consultant who was linked to the Liberal Party of Canada.

But the Tories refused to appoint Mr. Soubliere. Instead, they nominated Michael Burns, a former executive vice-president at B.C.

Gas and onetime fundraiser for the Canadian Alliance, a precursor to the Conservative Party.

Mr. Burns left his position late Friday, and Health Minister Tony Clement said in a television interview yesterday the departure was related to the shutdown of an AECL reactor that created a worldwide shortage of medical isotopes.

"I think it's fair to say it confirmed our impression that there has to be new management, there has to be better management, at AECL," Mr. Clement said.

Mr. Burns did not return telephone calls yesterday.

In an interview, Mr. Soubliere said it is his understanding he was selected to be the AECL chair, but that he did not get the offer.

He confirmed he was involved with the Liberal Party and the onetime leadership race of his friend John Manley, while adding he also donated in the past to the Conservatives.

"The government had the right to do what it did, and it did it.

... I don't take it personally," he said.

Mr. Soubliere refused to comment on last month's shutdown of the AECL reactor in Chalk River, Ont., prompted by a decision from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission that feared the lack of backup power on a crucial pump.

Last week, the Harper government blamed the crisis on Linda Keen, the career civil servant who heads the CNSC, alleging she was a Liberal appointee who was putting lives in danger by not permitting the restart of the reactor.

A nuclear industry insider said yesterday the government was faced with a difficult dilemma when the prolonged shutdown led to a shortage of medical isotopes, but at no time did he sense Ms. Keen took a partisan approach.

"Ms. Keen was doing only strictly what she had to do under the law," the insider said. "She applied the law to the letter. She should not be flexible in that job. I was surprised that they attacked her personally." The government responded to the crisis last week by adopting emergency legislation that forced AECL to start up its reactor.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Mr. Clement said valuable lessons were learned during the crisis.

"One of the first things that we did in conjunction with Gary Lunn, the Natural Resources Minister, was to make it clear to both the regulator and the AECL that if there was ever in the future an unscheduled event which was longer than the usual shutdown, we would have to be notified well in advance," Mr. Clement said.

But the Liberals attacked Ottawa's handling of the matter, saying the Harper government was aware for months of the need for repairs at Chalk River.

Liberal MP Omar Alghabra said the government earmarked $71-million in October for upgrades at Chalk River, while Mr. Lunn has said he learned of the shutdown only earlier this month.

"For him to say he first became aware of problems at the facility on Dec. 3 is ridiculous," Mr. Alghabra said in an statement yesterday.

Efforts to reach AECL board members yesterday were unsuccessful: Quebec City lawyer Marcel Aubut and Calgary governance consultant Stella Thompson did not return calls; an assistant said outgoing Concordia University president Claude Lajeunesse could not be reached; Brookfield Asset Management chair Robert Harding was out of the country until the New Year, according to an assistant, and University of New Brunswick professor Barbara Trenholm, who is on leave, did not respond to an e-mail.

***** Emergency legislation The federal government has introduced emergency legislation about 30 times since 1950, mostly to settle labour disputes and order postal, railway and port employees back to work. Some notable examples: 1950 Liberal Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent introduced a bill to settle a nationwide railway strike. It was passed by both houses of Parliament and received royal assent before either house considered the Speech from the Throne.

1977 Parliament ordered air-traffic controllers back to work in mid-August after a three-day strike.

1978 Back-to-work legislation was introduced when postal workers went on strike. It was passed in four hours by a vote of 162-10.

1986 Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney government called Parliament back in August to approve a government bill cracking down on would-be refugees after a boatload of Sikhs landed off the coast of Nova Scotia and demanded refugee status.

1997 A postal strike prompted emergency legislation that eventually forced an arbitrated settlement to the dispute. The bill was introduced on Dec. 1 and received royal assent on Dec. 3.