watsayu
06-25-08, - 04:44 PM
By The Canadian Press
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper has moved junior minister Christian Paradis into the giant Public Works portfolio and formally shifted David Emerson to Foreign Affairs.
Senator Michael Fortier moves from Public Works to replace Emerson in International Trade.
The prime minister also brought James Moore, a well-respected parliamentary secretary from British Columbia, into cabinet as secretary of state for official languages, the Asia-Pacific gateway and the Vancouver Olympics.
The mini-shuffle filled the void left by Maxime Bernier's troubled departure from Foreign Affairs last month.
Emerson had been running the department on an interim basis, but Wednesday's ceremony at Rideau Hall made the change official.
"We're on track, and we're going to stay on track," Harper said as he left the ceremony. He declined further comment.
A reliable, experienced minister, Emerson is considered a safe choice after the fiasco in which Bernier resigned after admitting he'd left classified documents at the home of a former girlfriend who had past links to criminal biker gangs.
Harper last shuffled his cabinet in August 2007, when he moved Bernier to Foreign Affairs from Industry.
Paradis, a lawyer from Thetford Mines, Que., had been secretary of state for agriculture. His promotion would refill the ranks of senior ministers from Quebec after the loss of Bernier. He'll also keep his agriculture job.
Moore, a bilingual broadcaster, was first elected in 2000 as a Reform party MP. He was 24 at the time, the youngest MP ever elected in the province. Since then he has been re-elected twice and forged a reputation as a solid MP.
There had been some speculation Harper might take the opportunity to make major changes, including moving Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Industry Minister Jim Prentice, but that proved false.
Treasury Board President Vic Toews, who had been rumoured to be heading for a judgeship in Manitoba, kept his cabinet post.
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper has moved junior minister Christian Paradis into the giant Public Works portfolio and formally shifted David Emerson to Foreign Affairs.
Senator Michael Fortier moves from Public Works to replace Emerson in International Trade.
The prime minister also brought James Moore, a well-respected parliamentary secretary from British Columbia, into cabinet as secretary of state for official languages, the Asia-Pacific gateway and the Vancouver Olympics.
The mini-shuffle filled the void left by Maxime Bernier's troubled departure from Foreign Affairs last month.
Emerson had been running the department on an interim basis, but Wednesday's ceremony at Rideau Hall made the change official.
"We're on track, and we're going to stay on track," Harper said as he left the ceremony. He declined further comment.
A reliable, experienced minister, Emerson is considered a safe choice after the fiasco in which Bernier resigned after admitting he'd left classified documents at the home of a former girlfriend who had past links to criminal biker gangs.
Harper last shuffled his cabinet in August 2007, when he moved Bernier to Foreign Affairs from Industry.
Paradis, a lawyer from Thetford Mines, Que., had been secretary of state for agriculture. His promotion would refill the ranks of senior ministers from Quebec after the loss of Bernier. He'll also keep his agriculture job.
Moore, a bilingual broadcaster, was first elected in 2000 as a Reform party MP. He was 24 at the time, the youngest MP ever elected in the province. Since then he has been re-elected twice and forged a reputation as a solid MP.
There had been some speculation Harper might take the opportunity to make major changes, including moving Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Industry Minister Jim Prentice, but that proved false.
Treasury Board President Vic Toews, who had been rumoured to be heading for a judgeship in Manitoba, kept his cabinet post.