Path to PM’s new cabinet hits final stretch
No shortage of advice as Trudeau unveils new members Tuesday
OTTAWA — Less than 24 hours before Justin Trudeau unveils his new cabinet, the prime minister was getting some unsolicited advice about who shouldn’t make the cut.
Conservatives were urging him to dump Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan from cabinet over what they describe as his mishandling of sexual misconduct allegations among the military’s senior ranks.
And they’re warning him against appointing Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin, who defected from the Greens last spring following a dispute with that party’s leadership over the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. Atwin, who had referred to Israel as an apartheid state, won re-election last month as a Liberal.
Meanwhile, the NDP and some Indigenous leaders were calling on Trudeau to dump Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett, whom they accuse of failing to live up to the Liberal government’s commitment to reconciliation.
Any hints of who might be in cabinet could begin trickling out before the official announcement as those taking on new positions start arriving in the national capital for Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony.
Trudeau has said the new cabinet will maintain gender parity and be regionally balanced.
He has to name replacements for three female ministers who lost their seats in last month’s election — Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan, Gender Equality Minister Maryam Monsef and Seniors Minister Deb Schulte — as well as Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna who did not seek reelection.
Some ministers are likely to have an interest in remaining in their portfolios, but Trudeau has so far only publicly confirmed that Chrystia Freeland, who serves in a dual role as deputy prime minister and finance minister, won’t be moved.
Once sworn in, any new faces in new places will quickly get a crash course on their portfolios ahead of Parliament’s return on Nov. 22.
The Liberals have said that high atop the agenda for MPs when the House of Commons returns is a $7.4-billion reshaping of federal pandemic aid, which the Liberals unveiled late last week.