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O’Neill refused all comment when contacted by the Citizen. “This is a very personal situation,” said Patricia Lynch, a spokeswoman for the museum of history. “He doesn’t want to speak publicly about his relationship with his employer.”

However, it appears that O’Neill is prepared to fight. A source outside the museum said the 52-year-old O’Neill has retained wrongful dismissal lawyer Janice Payne, who has represented many high-profile clients, including Mike Duffy.

Lynch wouldn’t confirm or deny that Monday, reiterating that O’Neill “will not be discussing his relationship with his employer publicly.”

John Swettenham, a spokesman for the museum of nature, confirmed that Beckel responded to LeBlanc’s letter on Friday, the deadline imposed by the government.

“However, she does not want to talk about the content of what she’s sending,” Swettenham said, echoing Lynch’s comments about O’Neill. “She really sees this as a private matter. It’s between her and her employer.”

Olivier Duchesneau, a spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office, said the PMO “will not be talking about next steps and confirming details until we have the chance to review carefully all the responses” from the 33 cabinet appointees.

“We promised Canadians that we would adopt an open, merit-based appointment process,” Duchesneau said in an email, adding that the government hopes the 33 appointees “will agree to withdraw and to submit their application under this open process. We are confident that this is the right thing to do to restore public trust in our institutions.”