The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Alberta's government appointed former prime minister Stephen Harper as chairman of the province's $169-billion public-sector pension fund manager and added a senior government official to its board, signalling a shift in governance at Alberta Investment Management Corp. and raising questions about its independence. The Globe's James Bradshaw writes that Mr. Harper is taking the chairman's role unpaid as part of a revamped board after Alberta's government dismissed AIMCo's entire 10-member board and four senior leaders, including its chief executive officer, two weeks ago. The province also added the deputy minister of Treasury Board and Finance as a permanent member of the board. That restores a board seat the deputy minister held at AIMCo's inception in 2008, which was removed a year later. Three other former AIMCo directors, who were dismissed on Nov. 7 as part of the government's sweeping leadership changes, are returning to the board. Mr. Harper is chairman and chief executive officer of Harper & Associates, his consulting and advisory business, plus has private-equity interests. He is also a director of Alimentation Couche-Tard and Colliers International.