Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced substantial shuffles in cabinet on Wednesday, ahead of the 2019 federal election.
The changes included moving six ministers to new portfolios and promoting five other MPs to cabinet.
MP Dan Ruimy, Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge, said the changes came as no surprise, but noted he was pleased with many of them.
“I’m over the moon about having Jonathan Wilkinson as DFO. With everything we have here – the Ocean’s Protection Plan, coastal restoration, fish habitat – we’re such a watershed community here in Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge. Knowing Jonathan and where his thoughts and beliefs are, it’s great for us as a country and the Pacific coast,” said Ruimy.
Wilkinson became the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard from his previous role as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Another move that Ruimy was happy about was Bill Blair becoming Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction.
Blair previously served as Toronto Police Chief, and parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and to the Minister of Health.
“We hear about the challenges in our communities, and knowing Bill with his background and focus, it’ll be interesting to see what he brings. I think having a Minister of Border Security will alleviate some of the concerns people have out there. Tying in his background in organized crime, we know there’s pockets in the Lower Mainland that have challenges with that, so being able to focus on that brings a whole new perspective to having a new minister department.”
Ruimy said one of the Liberals’ biggest issues continues to be NAFTA.
“NAFTA is ongoing, and everything we’ve done for the last year and a half is something we’ll continue to focus on. Making sure we continue to reinforce the relationships we’ve had with our counterpart. A bunch of us have gone down to Washington to meet with our counterpart and remind them of the relationship we have. Two billion dollars crosses our border every single day, and that’s quite a huge amount of trade that goes on between our two countries.”
In a press release, the federal government said the cabinet changes reflect its focus on diversifying international trade, supporting and growing small businesses, expanding tourism, promoting exports and improving trade with Canadian borders.
In response to the Trudeau cabinet shuffle, Davis Friesen, who is seeking the Conservative nomination for Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge, said the moves signal some disappointing changes.
“There’s some pretty major shake up in international trade, natural resources and border security which are big issues right now.”
Friesen expressed concern over the ministers who were chosen for cabinet positions.
“Those who have been tasked to replace those don’t have great records on their previous file. I don’t know if there’s a lot of confidence moving forward that anything is going to change.”
Friesen mentioned Amarjeet Sohi, who will move to Minister of Natural Resources from his previous role as Minister of Infrastructure.
“He’s going from a file where, when he was Infrastructure Minister, nothing was built. Now we need a pipeline built, so his previous record doesn’t lend that there’s any confidence the pipeline will be built.”
Friesen also cited Minister James Gordon Carr, who will move to Minister of International Trade Diversification from his role as Minister of Natural Resources.
“The one who didn’t get the pipeline built, Minister Carr, is now going to international trade where we need to ratify the TPP agreements, NAFTA negotiations. So the one who couldn’t get any pipeline built is the one tasked to get these trade agreements done. There’s nothing in their performance to date that shows they can do that.”
Lisa Raitt, Deputy Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and the Official Opposition, said in a statement from the Conservative government, the shuffle is “nothing short of an admission of failure.”
Raitt also stated, “the individuals Mr. Trudeau chose to lead them don’t inspire confidence that anything will change. Unfortunately, Canadians can expect more failures from the Liberal government on these fronts in the coming months leading up to the next election.”
Other ministers who Ruimy was happy about were Filomena Tassi, who became Minister of Seniors after serving as the Deputy Government Whip, and Pablo Rodriguez, who became Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism after serving as the Chief Government Whip.
Ruimy describes Tassi as well-grounded, compassionate, and highly-qualified. He calls Rodriguez the “steady rock” who will bring his own flare to the new role.
Friesen added there will be a lot of activity in the next year.
“Politics change quickly, so the issues of today may not be as important come election time.”