Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proceeded with what could be described as a cabinet microshuffle on Wednesday, 20 days before Parliament resumes. The swapping of roles of two of his ministers was not done to fix problems within the machinery of government or to remove a member of his cabinet who had not performed well: rather the very small change was made to lighten the task of a colleague who had requested it.
Public Services and Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi advised the prime minister last month that she wanted to change roles because her husband suffered two strokes early last year. “As anyone who’s been through a similar experience knows, stroke care can be complex and fraught with uncertainty,” said Ms.me Tassi in a press release, while thanking the Prime Minister “for having taken into account [ses] needs and those of [sa] family “.
She therefore switched chairs with her colleague from Markham-Stouffville, Helena Jaczek, who was responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.
Mme Tassi is the MP for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas and her region’s economic development portfolio will keep her closer to home.
The Department of Public Services and Procurement is at the heart of the federal machinery of government. He is responsible for managing all of Ottawa’s purchases, including the stock of COVID-19 vaccines, a very complex operation at the start of the pandemic.
Mme Jaczek served as Ontario’s minister of community and social services, then briefly minister of health before Doug Ford was elected to Queen’s Park in 2018.
Too early to reshuffle the cards
Prime Minister Trudeau explained that he preferred to carry out a surgical reshuffle, without moving more than two ministers within his team, because the election was held less than a year ago and the cabinet did not was sworn in until the end of October 2021.
The Trudeau cabinet therefore remains unchanged for the rest. And this, despite the delays that persist in the processing of immigration and passport applications, as well as the continual congestion of airports.
“Our government is working extremely hard every day to deliver concretely for Canadians,” said Mr. Trudeau. “We recognize that there are a lot of challenges in the world, here in Canada as well. But we are here to work and to make the improvements necessary to deliver for Canadians. »
The Liberal cabinet team will meet next week in Vancouver to prepare for the parliamentary session which begins on September 19.
In addition, the Conservative Party of Canada will announce the identity of its next leader on September 10. According to the polls, it is the combative Pierre Poilievre who should then be elected by the militants of the party.