(Christian Diotte, House of Commons Photo Services)

By Nigel Maxwell

Politics

‘It is just a token appointment’: MP responds to appointment of prairies representative

Jan 14, 2021 | 2:00 PM

The Trudeau government’s latest cabinet shuffle will see the creation of a new cabinet post – special representative to the prairies but the member of parliament (MP) for Prince Albert thinks it’s too little too late and signals a plan for a spring election.

Speaking with paNOW, Randy Hoback had some kind words to say about Winnipeg MP Jim Carr, calling him respectable, easy to work with, and a good person to bring issues to the cabinet table. Hoback however also acknowledged Carr is essentially a minister without a portfolio which means he has no staff, no bureaucracy to work with, and no budget.

“It is just a token appointment which is disappointing for a guy of Jim Carr’s makeup and abilities,” Hoback said.

“No one in the Liberal party wants to have an election” _{– Estelle Hjertaas}

Carr is returning as a full cabinet member after stepping aside last year, following a cancer diagnosis during the 2019 federal election campaign. Following Tuesday’s cabinet shuffle, Prime Minister Trudeau told reporters he has no plans to trigger a spring election, but Hoback wasn’t so sure.

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“As I hear more and more talk of a spring election, or an election in 2021, all of a sudden they show some interest in the west which is really disappointing,” he said.

Election talk aside, Hoback said he was encouraged to see some work being done by the Liberal government to address feelings of western alienation, but noted again nothing was done until close to an election date.

Also announced Tuesday was that Minister Navdeep Bains won’t be running in the next election, so Francois-Philippe Champagne is leaving Global Affairs to take Bains’s post. Marc Garneau is leaving transport for Champagne’s old job.

“He’s navigated outer space so maybe he can navigate our planet now,” Hoback said.

Estelle Hjertaas was the Prince Albert riding’s Federal Liberal candidate in the last election and has met Jim Carr in the past. She said she has full confidence Carr understands what the issues are in Western Canada, adding Liberals in Western Canada have done their best in the past to bring those concerns to the national party.

“The reality is with less representatives from the west, they are not always getting that feedback so I think it’s great to have Jim Carr back as a member of cabinet so he can give that direct feedback from not just himself, but in the past his office (when he was minister of Natural Resources) has been good about reaching out to Liberals from Western Canada to get feedback from them and pass that on,” she explained.

Estelle Hjertaas has full confidence in Carr’s abilty to represent Western Canada’s interests. (File photo/ paNOW Staff)

In response to suggestions Carr’s appointment was a sign of the government’s plan to pop a spring election, Hjertaas shrugged them off.

“No one in the Liberal party wants to have an election,” she said.

Hjertaas also explained though based on the “frequent mutterings” from various opposition parties about how they will cause an election by not supporting various bills, it was best to be prepared.

“I think it’s hopefully just a reflection of Mr. Carr’s health being better that he’s able to be back in cabinet and also just the cabinet shuffle that was caused by Navdeep Bains deciding not to run again,” she said.

When asked if she will run again, Hjertaas said she would, explaining she told her supporters in the last election campaign she would run twice.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell