Indo-canadians in Trudeau ministry figure among worst performers, Sohi tops the list
TORONTO : None of the four Indo-canadian ministers in prime minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet have a positive rating for their performance, according to a new national poll. In fact, the very worst score for any of the minister is reserved for Indo-canadian minister of natural resources Amarjeet Sohi.
The second annual survey of this nature was conducted by the not-for-profit, nonpartisan public opinion research foundation, Angus Reid Institute or ARI. A performance score was generated by deducting the number of responses saying the minister was doing a bad job, from the number that felt they were doing a good job.
Sohi, of course, comes off the worst of all of Trudeau ministers, with his performance score at – (minus) 36, a drop of 34 points compared to last year. While 53 per cent of the respondents gave his performance a thumbs down, just 17 per cent had a positive opinion.
“Sohi appears to be taking the brunt of a perceived failure of the federal government to secure the construction of the Transmountain pipeline expansion,” ARI commented on the bottom ranking, for a minister who was given the portfolio just this year.
This controversial project has been among the most divisive issues in the country this year and as the point man for its implementation, Sohi appears to be bearing the brunt for the public’s disenchantment with its perceived mishandling by the Trudeau government.
His Indo-canadian colleagues fare better but not much, since none of them have garnered a positive rating. Among the most recognised ministers in the Trudeau cabinet, minister of national defence Harjit Sajjan has a – 7 score, in contrast to the situation a year back, when he had a positive rating of + 15. Minister of innovation, science and economic development Navdeep Bains is worse off at a – 20 rating, a swing of – 30 from last year. Coming off the best within this quartet is the leader of the government in the House of Commons Bardish Chagger, with a – 2 mark, though she did have a + 2 favourable last year.
Canada’s minister of foreign affairs Chrystia Freeland is the most popular member of the cabinet with a positive rating of + 20. Meanwhile, finance minister Bill Morneau remains as unpopular as he was last year, with an identical rating of – 20.