Trudeau confidant given vets portfolio in shuffle at mandate’s halfway point
OTTAWA • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is splitting his government’s Indigenous and Northern Affairs department and naming two new ministers, including a personal friend, in the biggest cabinet shuffle since he took office.
The shuffle was ostensibly prompted by the departure from politics of Procurement Minister Judy Foote, who recently announced she will resign her House of Commons seat in September to help her family with health issues.
Foote represented her Newfoundland riding for nine years. Regional representation has always been a prominent factor in Canadian cabinet-making — so there is logic to adding a Newfoundland MP to the cabinet. If this wasn’t on the table, there could be backlash.
But some may be raising their eyebrows at Trudeau’s choice in Seamus O’Regan. Without having first served as a parliamentary secretary (a role fellow new minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor can boast), O’Regan is taking on the veterans affairs file, with predecessor Kent Hehr being reassigned.
O’Regan, with his husband, vacationed with Trudeau at the Aga Khan’s private island in the Bahamas last winter, and a year before that, went public with a stint in rehab to recover from alcoholism.
The former morning television host wasn’t shy about addressing the latter in comments to reporters Monday. “I’ve just never been better in my life,” O’Regan said. “My medical team is very happy with me and my progress and in actual fact, the stresses and strains of purposeful work is something that I find completely invigorating and keeps me very healthy.”
The government’s critics are fresh off a latest batch of accusations that Trudeau Liberals tend to reward their friends. Recently, reports emerged that a close friend of principal secretary Gerald Butts and unsuccessful Liberal election candidate, businessman Rana Sarkar, would be heading Canada’s consulate general in San Francisco at nearly double the normal pay range.
Trudeau didn’t bite when prompted to comment on perceptions of nepotism. “I’m proud of the work that he’s done as a member of Parliament, the strong voice for Newfoundland amongst many strong voices from Newfoundland and Labrador, and I’m excited about the team we’re putting forward today,” he said.
Elaborating on what he would bring to the job, O’Regan said he grew up near a military base in Goose Bay, and his brother is a lieutenant-commander in the navy who runs the naval academy in Esquimalt. Mentioning his experiences interviewing veterans for television, O’Regan said the values that will guide him in the job are “compassion and care and respect.”
Although O’Regan’s ascent may be good fodder for critics, an even more contentious issue is the planned overhaul of how government handles its relationship with Indigenous people.
The government ultimately intends to dissolve the current Indigenous and Northern Affairs department and create two new, distinct departments that will be run by separate ministries. The first step is installing the two ministers mandated to oversee the change.
Incumbent Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett remains responsible for treaty rights — her new title is Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs — while former health minister Jane Philpott is taking on a new portfolio, Indigenous Services.
Replacing Philpott as health minister is New Brunswick MP Petitpas Taylor, who was finance minister Bill Morneau’s parliamentary secretary.
Foote’s replacement comes from inside cabinet: it’s a promotion for the minister responsible for sports and persons with disabilities, Carla Qualtrough, who inherits the Phoenix public service pay fiasco and important responsibilities in defence procurement.
And Hehr, who was minister of veterans affairs, replaces Qualtrough in her previous role. Of the bunch, his was perhaps the only demotion, although Hehr expressed some enthusiasm about his new portfolio. (Following a media availability after cabinet announcements, however, a hot microphone caused the minister to be heard expressing little surprise at limited media interest.)
Observers were surprised when Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould arrived at Rideau Hall Monday — it is customary only for new ministers, or those changing portfolios, to appear at the swearing-in ceremonies that mark changes to cabinet.
But an official from the prime minister’s office explained her presence had to do with the importance of the Indigenous file — she is a former B.C. regional chief — and there were no changes to her position.