As is typical of the man, Jason Kenney’s cabinet shuffle yesterday, while clearly necessary, was delivered in a slippery manner. Justice Minister Tyler Shandro (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). Leastways, the usual cheerful statement alerting the media that a big upcoming announcement was in the offing appeared in no one’s email inbox
Continue readingTag: Cabinet shuffle
Alberta Politics: Alberta Health Minister shuffled to Labour; Labour Minister shuffled to Health … premier says he won’t quit
VICTORIA – Say what you will about Jason Kenney, he never fails to disappoint. When the buzz hit social media yesterday morning that Alberta’s premier would attempt to shore up his shaky perch atop Alberta’s government with a post-federal-election cabinet shuffle, the assumption was natural that he was about to
Continue readingsomecanuckchick dot com: Justin Trudeau is damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t…
Justin Trudeau [like many of us] is the [great x10!]grandchild of colonizers… Justin Trudeau is a man. These two things mean Justin Trudeau is damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t, WRT these rogue Liberal MPs… and I use the term Liberal quite loosely. That’s not to say that
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Saskatchewan Catholic school funding case likely to drag on despite deadline; cabinet shuffle today in Alberta
You’d think the province of Saskatchewan would be almost out of time to figure out how to deal with a judge’s ruling last year that non-Catholic students may not receive public funding if they attend separate schools. After all, the bombshell decision by Mr. Justice Donald Layh of the Saskatchewan
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Premier Rachel Notley introduces six new cabinet members … pretty flawlessly
PHOTOS: Premier Rachel Notley introduces her expanded, 19-member (that is, 18 full + 1 associate member) cabinet to the media at Government House yesterday morning. (Photo by Dave Cournoyer, used with permission.) Below: New cabinet members Christina G…
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Notley spreads out the workload in new expanded NDP cabinet
Alberta’s provincial cabinet grew by six today as Premier Rachel Notley announced an early 2016 cabinet shuffle. These appointments bring the size of Alberta’s cabinet up to 19, which is larger than the initial 12 cabinet ministers appointed af…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta’s NDP government gets serious about economic diversification, an overdue change
PHOTOS: Premier Rachel Notley with Economic Development and Trade Minister Deron Bilous and Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee moments after the two cabinet members were sworn into their new portfolios. Below: Labour and Advanced Education Minister Lori Sigurdson. A key part of the business of any government is the business
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Death threats and vile misogynist commentary about NDP politicians infest Alberta social media
PHOTOS: An organizer of a rally by the group Albertans Against the NDP, addresses a couple of dozen supporters in Calgary last Saturday. The horses are public art and were not technically part of the rally. Until recently, the group’s home page featured violent and offensive commentary about the Alberta
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: Wildrose Staffers land jobs with PC Caucus
TweetWhile some staffers working for the Wildrose Official Opposition Caucus lost their jobs when leader Danielle Smith and 8 MLAs crossed the floor to the Progressive Conservatives before Christmas 2014, at least three former opposition staffers appear to have landed jobs working for the governing PC Caucus. Appearing on the Government of Alberta staff directory
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Cabinet documents and deliberations #nlpoli
One of the big changes Bill 29 made to the province’s access to information law was to give a list of documents that could not be released under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act because they were cabinet documents. Before then, the law in Newfoundland and Labrador,
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Avoiding a cabinet shuffle #nlpoli
By the end of the week, Premier Tom Marshall will be short at least two cabinet ministers. Paul Davis quit as health minister on Wednesday and Steve Kent is expected to follow on Thursday as both vie for the party leadership. On top of that he’s missing Joan Shea who
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Cabinet Shuffle Bored #nlpoli
The provincial Conservative Party is in the midst of such an intense revival of interest only about a dozen people turned out on Wednesday night for the annual general meeting of the district association in Mount Pearl South. They were there to elect delegates to the party convention in July.
Continue readingImpolitical: Random thoughts on the cabinet shuffle
If we must. Alternative blog post title could very well be: Everything old is new again. I agree with the Canadian Press header: “New faces in Harper’s cabinet overhaul, but old guard stands economic watch.” I also agree, unsurprisingly (!), with Bob Rae’s fun take on all the hullabaloo: “With shuffle, the Harper Revolution continues its slow, steady crawl.”
First, an under-noted development perhaps. Chris Alexander goes to Citizenship & Immigration. Jason Kenney’s old stomping ground. Literally. Just ask the Doctors for Refugee Health Care who have taken the lead on protesting the cuts by this government to health care coverage for refugees. Whether Alexander will remedy this situation is a key question. Will he continue on with the “gold plated benefits” propaganda nonsense or as a GTA denizen amend this government’s ways on what is an uncompassionate policy?
Another aspect of this move is the political angle. This ministry is clearly viewed by Conservatives as a key part of their political equation. Putting Alexander, an ambitious pol from the GTA into this ministry as a successor to Kenney is an intriguing political dynamic. Kenney nevertheless tweeted:
Congratulations to Chris Alexander on his appointment as Minister of Citizenship & Immigration. He’s brilliant, hard-working, & very capable
— Jason Kenney (@kenneyjason) July 15, 2013
Speaking of himself, Kenney goes to HRSDC. It was termed Employment & Social Development today but it is HRSDC, as Kenney’s tweets also indicate. Succeeding Diane Finley. No one is calling this a demotion but it does have that tinge to it. I suppose something transformational could be in the works, given Kenney’s being Kenney and we shall see.
Working with Kenney, kind of, will be Kellie Leitch who is put in Labour & Status of Women. I find putting a surgeon in the Labour portfolio to be odd and not necessarily congruent with her experience. Raitt is a lawyer so at least she was steeped more in the framework, Leitch not so much. Although when your government’s labour relations policy is just to legislate industries back to work under the guise of “the economy,” it may not be an issue for Leitch at the end of the day. And also with Leitch, Status of Women continues to be an add on hobby for a Harper minister.
Pierre Poilievre to Democratic Reform? What more could one possibly say here? This is the MP who has been sicced on Elections Canada for years. If this day was meant to be about Harper turning a new page, this move surely undermined that thinking. But really, who would have expected a day free from some patented Harper partisanship.
The big news elsewhere in democratic reform today, by the way, is that Bob Rae has joined Fair Vote Canada’s advisory board.
“Canadians need to know that their votes will really count. This means moving beyond our first past the post system”, says Rae, a long-time supporter of adding proportionality to Canada’s electoral system.
The key democratic reform challenge for Canada’s future is not the Senate, the priority should be reforming the House of Commons. Liberals also joined that message on democratic reform today.
Lisa Raitt to Transport is interesting given the debate going on in the GTA – or should I say GTHA – over transit funding and dealing with Toronto’s overdue needs and the Metrolinx proposals. Subway fever is everywhere and the funds to underwrite Toronto’s transit needs are pressing. Raitt has her sexy portfolio now and it could provide opportunity for the Harper gang in Toronto. Emphasis on could. Whether they will be willing to work with Premier Wynne or keep showing up and wearing t-shirts for Team Hudak is a question.
Aglukkaq to Environment on its surface might seem like a less dug in approach in the offing. Here is one take that seems fair:
Aglukaaq’s appt at environment signals importance of First Nations’ support for resource development.
— Shawn McCarthy (@smccarthy55) July 15, 2013
But it’s the oil and gas regulations that will be the big test for this government, as everyone knows.
Elsewhere, countries have ministers designated for climate change. It’s time for this in Canada too.
Probably much more that could be said but that’s it from this corner of the internet peanut gallery.
P.S. Oh, almost forgot the obligatory note for long time readers…Gerry Ritz should have been fired.
Continue readingImpolitical: Random thoughts on the cabinet shuffle
If we must. Alternative blog post title could very well be: Everything old is new again. I agree with the Canadian Press header: “New faces in Harper’s cabinet overhaul, but old guard stands economic watch.” I also agree, unsurprisingly (!), with Bob Rae’s fun take on all the hullabaloo: “With
Continue readingImpolitical: Random thoughts on the cabinet shuffle
If we must. Alternative blog post title could very well be: Everything old is new again. I agree with the Canadian Press header: “New faces in Harper’s cabinet overhaul, but old guard stands economic watch.” I also agree, unsurprisingly (!), with Bob Rae’s fun take on all the hullabaloo: “With
Continue readingLeDaro: Stephen Harper’s New Cabinet
Really? What is new?
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Oh my God – they shuffled Kenney! Those Bastards!
New Title, Same Job The much-hyped Cabinet shuffle was about what you’d expect: retiring Ministers swept aside, talented backbenchers and Pierre Poilievre promoted, and a few big names swapping portfolios to give them a fresh start. The opposition will argue this is very much the same government as before, and
Continue readingLeDaro: Mike Duffy in Florida and money
I am disappointed by Harper’s Cabinet shuffle. I thought new finance minister will be Mike Duffy. He knows all about money.
Continue readingsomecanuckchick dot com: A Cabinet shuffle is a cabinet shuffle…
Then… Jason Kenney is out as Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Peter MacKay is out as Minister of National Defence. Christian Paradis is out as Minister of Industry. James Moore is out as Minister of Canadian Heritage. Rona Ambrose is out as Minister of State for Status of Women. Leona
Continue readingsomecanuckchick dot com: The big news with #shuffle13?
As far as I’m concerned, the big news with #shuffle13 is the absence of Dean Del Mastro. Dean Del Mastro has served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, since 2011. In fact, Dean Del Mastro has logged more time [check Hansard] speaking as the Parliamentary Secretary to
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