Cabinet shuffle expected in Ottawa
Posted Jan 14, 2019 5:02 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA (660 NEWS) – The Prime Minister is going to put a new look on his inner circle as he shuffles his cabinet nine months before the federal election.
One name that will be on the move is indigenous services minister Jane Philpott. She is expected to take over for Treasury Board President Scott Brison, who resigned last week.
It’s a key fiscal portfolio ahead of a pre-election budget, and Philpott has been seen as a fixer of sorts for the government, already tackling issues like marijuana legalization in health and clean water and education for First Nations. Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan is also on the move — possibly to Indigenous Services to take over from Philpott.
Trudeau must elevate a legislator from Nova Scotia to cabinet to make up for the void Brison leaves. That could be either Sean Fraser or Bernadette Jordan, and they may possibly be taking over for O’Regan at Veterans Affairs.
This is expected to be a small shake-up but Maclean’s senior writer Paul Wells said he’s always prepared for surprises.
“It’s real hard to change only a few seats because of that sort of domino effect,” he said. “I think very nearly all of the portfolios are up for grabs.”
He noted the importance of the position that Brison is leaving behind.
“That goes to the government credibility. The kind of aura of the government as a government that takes taxpayers seriously.”
The Finance, Foreign Affairs and Public Safety ministers are all expected to stay put.
With files from the Canadian Press
