The other day writer Althia Raj wrote an opinion piece in the Toronto Star about a possible cabinet shuffle by Justin Trudeau. I was pleased to see the research that she had done on the subject but it she did not seem to go far enough. I think the shuffle needs to start at the top. It is Justin that needs to retire.
But I hardly think the Trudeau cabinet just needs some tweaking. To survive, it needs a major overhaul. Canadians want change. They are dissatisfied with all three major party leaders. Nor do they seem enamoured to the leaders of the splinter parties. There is little sense in switching the deck chairs on a sinking ship.
It is a credit to Althia Raj’s intelligence that she agrees with me that deputy prime minister, Cynthia Freeland, has about run her course. I think Freeland wants to see a good resolution in Ukraine before going back to her own keyboard. Writers such as Freeland are few and far between.
But the rest of the cabinet need to look to their options before the voters do it for them. I disagree with Raj’s suggestion that Stephen Guilbeault is solid in environment. How he can stay in that role after the bitumen starts flowing down the revamped Trans Mountain pipeline to the Pacific Ocean? It leaves me wondering just what kind of environment he and the prime minister want.
At the same time, I will agree with Ms. Raj that Mélanie Joly presents an excellent face for Canada in foreign affairs.
But the sooner that former Toronto police chief Bill Blair is out of cabinet the better I will feel about voting liberal. Carolyn Bennett has served long and well but Toronto needs younger members from Toronto in cabinet to speak for the city.
Oddly enough, I feel sad about the perceived performance of Marco Mendicino. That is a capable guy who has been getting no good advice regarding his communication skills. He needs some serious tutoring in using microphones and appearing on camera. There is no harm in looking at how a little shit like Pierre Poilievre makes use of those skills and doing the same as he did: learn.
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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry
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