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Task of crafting new cabinet hits final stretch

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Oct, 2021 02:09 PM

OTTAWA - Less than 24 hours before Justin Trudeau unveils his new cabinet, the prime minister is getting some unsolicited advice about who shouldn't make the cut.

Conservatives are 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 Israeli-Palestinian 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 are 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 late Monday 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 re-election.

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 and try to soak up details 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.

The swearing-in ceremony, presided over by Gov Gen. Mary May Simon, is set to kick off at Rideau Hall at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2021.

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