David Akin’s On The Hill

When he unveiled his cabinet earlier this week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper did not designate anyone as deputy prime minister. In the last cabinet, of course, Anne McLellan was deputy to Paul Martin.

But even though he has not designated a deputy prime minister per se, Harper has had to set down a list of who ought to stand in for him if he is unable to perform his duties. Number one on that list: Lawrence Cannon, (left) the MP for Pontiac and Minister of Transport, Infrastructure, and Communities.

Cannon was a top pick for those pundits who, prior to the announcement of the cabinet, believed Harper would designate a Deputy Prime Minister.

Rookie MPs from Quebec, in fact, hold down two of the top five spots, which are:

1. The Honourable Lawrence Cannon
2. The Honourable Jim Prentice
3. The Honourable Robert Douglas Nicholson
4. The Honourable David Emerson
5. The Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn

Peter MacKay, who was deputy leader while the Conservatives were in Opposition, is 10th on this list.

All of this is spelled out in Order-in-Council 2006–35, one of more than 75 orders-in-council Harper has signed off since taking office on Feb. 6.

My colleague Rob Brown, a reporter at CTV Vancouver, broke the news last night that David Emerson's riding association in Vancouver-Kingsway says Emerson (left) ought to give back more than $90,000 he received in donations.
“That money was spent to elect you as a Liberal, not a Conservative,” his former riding association executive writes.
Emerson, who was elected as a Liberal on Jan. 23, never spent a day on the Opposition benches and was sworn in as a Conservative member of cabinet on Feb. 6.
Blogger and Liberal Jason Cherniak has PDF copies of the letter that went to Emerson.

We marked his entry into the blogosphere and now we must mark his exit.
Monte Solberg, the MP for Medicine Hat, was appointed to Stephen Harper's cabinet on Monday as Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.
In what looks like will be his last blog post “for a while”, Solberg says “blogging just might have to take a back seat to Ministering.” (He also notes that his roommate, the Minister of Agriculture, does not do dishes.)
The blogosphere was enlivened by Solberg's contributions. He was a minister who understood the form and, even better, we all discovered what a terrific writer he is.
I say all this, of course, in the hope that he reads this, realizes what a swell guy I am, and feeds me all the cabinet secrets I could want 🙂

Here’s the list of Parliamentary Secretaries, sworn in this afternoon at a ceremony at the Centre Block of the House of Commons:

February 7, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced today the appointment of 26 new Parliamentary Secretaries to assist Ministers with their parliamentary duties.

“In the context of our smaller Cabinet, these Parliamentary Secretaries will take on a larger and more important role. They will be a key link between Ministers and Parliamentarians and will help ensure our relations with all Members of Parliament are effective and productive,” the Prime Minister said. “They are an important part of the team that will help implement the commitments we have made to Canadians.”

Parliamentary Secretaries support productive dialogue by sharing information and by bringing the concerns of Parliamentarians to the Minister, and within the government, along with other specific duties delegated by the Minister.

As public office holders, Parliamentary Secretaries are subject to the Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment Code for Public Office Holders.

* * * * * * * * *

PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARIES
February 2006
(In order of date first elected to the House of Commons)

James Abbott
Kooteney – Columbia (British Columbia)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women

Diane Ablonczy
Calgary – Nose Hill (Alberta)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance

Jason Kenney
Calgary Southeast (Alberta)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister for Multiculturalism

Deepak Obhrai
Calgary East (Alberta)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

David Anderson
Cypress Hills – Grasslands (Saskatchewan)
Parliamentary Secretary (for the Canadian Wheat Board) to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board

Betty Hinton
Kamloops – Thompson – Cariboo (British Columbia)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs

James Moore
Port Moody – Westwood – Port Coquitlam (British Columbia)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services

Lynne Yelich
Blackstrap (Saskatchewan)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources
and Social Development

Colin Carrie
Oshawa (Ontario)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry

Steven Fletcher
Charleswood – St. James – Assiniboia (Manitoba)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario

Helena Guergis
Simcoe – Grey (Ontario)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver – Whistler Olympics

Russ Hiebert
South Surrey – White Rock – Cloverdale (British Columbia)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Brian Jean
Fort McMurray – Athabasca (Alberta)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities

Randy Kamp
Pitt Meadows – Maple Ridge – Mission (British Columbia)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans

Ed Komarnicki
Souris – Moose Mountain (Saskatchewan)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

Tom Lukiwski
Regina – Lumsden – Lake Centre (Saskatchewan)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform

Dave MacKenzie
Oxford (Ontario)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety

Ted Menzies
Macleod (Alberta)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation and Minister for La Francophonie and Official Languages

Rob Moore
Fundy Royal (New Brunswick)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Pierre Poilievre
Nepean – Carleton (Ontario)
Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board

Peter Van Loan
York – Simcoe (Ontario)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

Mark Warawa
Langley (British Columbia)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment

Sylvie Boucher
Beauport – Limoilou (Quebec)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister

Rod Bruinooge
Winnipeg South (Manitoba)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians

Jacques Gourde
Lotbinère – Chutes-de-la-Chaudière (Quebec)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board

Christian Paradis
Mégantic – L’Érable (Quebec)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources

During the last Parliament, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts was an effective forum to focus attention on the sponsorship scandal and other matters. According to the Standing Orders of the House of Commons,  that committee is one of two Commons’ committees that the Liberals will get to chair and for which opposition party members will have a majority. John Williams (Edmonton-St. Albert), (left) who is a chartered accountant, was the chair of that committee in the last Parliament. I asked him about the irony, if you will, of the Liberals getting the chance to chair the committee which shone such a powerful on Liberal backroom dealings:

Williams: Well, standing orders require that the opposition chair the Public Accounts Committee and I’ve enjoyed the responsibility since 1997 in the opposition and of course now I’m glad to take my seat on the government side and hand that position over to presumably a Liberal from the Official Opposition.

Akin:  Do you expect [the Liberals] will be as effective as — that committee was very effective under your leadership.  Do you think the Liberals have the same zeal for that?

Williams: Well, of course they know what stones not to unturn — turn over so we’ll see if they have the same zeal to begin with.  I certainly enjoyed my stint as the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee holding the government accountable.  As a parliamentarian that was my responsibility, still is my responsibility to see that the government responds to the needs of the people.  And but of course, as I say, from a Liberal perspective, the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee there may be some areas that they want to stay away from and we’ll try and find them out ourselves.

After yesterday’s cabinet announcement, we’re learning today of other appointments. Here’s a few:

• Edmonton-Strathcona MP Rahim Jaffer (left) is the National Caucus Chairman for the Conservatives.
• Jay Hill (Prince George-Peace River) is Chief Government Whip.
• Jason Kenney (Calgary Southeast) is Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister

Late update: Had bad information on this one — Rookie Quebec MP Sylvie Boucher is Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister.

• James Moore (Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam) is Parliamentary Secretary to the Public Works Minister.

Because James Moore is P.S. to Michael Fortier and because Fortier is to be a senator, it will be Moore who will have to take any questions in the House of Commons about the administration of the Public Works department.

We are advised that the rest of the Parliamentary Secretaries will be sworn in later this afternoon. Conservative staffers are also saying that the secretaries will have a greater role to play in the next Parliament. They say that is becuase the cabinet smaller and more work will have to be shared with the secretaries.

Prime Minister-designate Stephen Harper and his cabinet will be sworn in in about two hours. No one knows for sure who will be in that cabinet. It’s one of the best-kept secrets in Ottawa — although there sure is plenty of speculation who will be doing what.

Harper’s inner circle has let it be known, however, that his cabinet will be smaller than the last one. So here’s the numbers on Paul Martin’s last cabinet:

• Cabinet size: 39
• Number of women: 9 (23%)
• Regional breakdown:
• Ontario had 15 cabinet seats
• Quebec had 7 plus the Prime Minister for 8 cabinet seats
• British Columbia had 5 cabinet seats
• Atlantic Canada had 6 cabinet seats.
• Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta each had one cabinet seat.

My best guess at this point has the Harper cabinet looking something like this:

• Cabinet size: 25
• Number of women: 5 (20%)
• Regional breakdown:
• Ontario – 8 cabinet seats
• Alberta – 4 ministers plus the Prime Minister for 5 cabinet seats
• Quebec – 4 cabinet seats
• Atlantic Canada – 3 cabinet seats
• British Columbia and Saskatchewan – 2 cabinet seats

The New York Times’ Saul Hansell reports today that both AOL and Yahoo — the two biggest providers of e-mail services on the planet — are considerig a plan to start charging companies who want to send out bulk e-mail a fee. Hansell says it could cost between 0.25 cents and a penny for those kinds of messages. But here’s the catch: Individual e-mail account holders could end up having to pay also if they respond to certain kinds of commercial e-mail.

On Friday, I tried to think through who will be in Stephen Harper’s cabinet when he unveils it on Monday. In that post, I noted that no one knows for sure but, in interviews with Conservative MPs, Conservative political staffers, Conservative strategists and other pundits and observers in Ottawa, it’s possible to come up with some educated guesses.

I got a lot of reaction and corrective analysis to that first run-through of the cabinet and so, here’s some additional thoughts and modifications to that first list (likely a good idea to read that first post before coming to this one):

Big picture:

• Harper's cabinet would have 23/24 members including Harper and the Senate Leader.
• It would have 8 MPs from Ontario, 5 MPs from Alberta (incl. Harper); 3 or 4 from Quebec, 3 from Atlantic Canada, 2 from B.C., 2 from Saskatchewan, and 1 from Manitoba.
• It would have five women.
• Lawrence Cannon (Pontiac) is deputy prime minister.

The details-

• Stockwell Day is not going to be in cabinet. Harper is going with merit over loyalty or friendship. On merit, Day is out (think Niagara Falls). I think Harper may recognize that Day has matured a great deal since his days as a party leader and while he won’t get a big slot like Foreign Affairs, he’d do OK looking after the Canada Revenue Agency. Plus, if he’s not in, B.C. likely only has Jay Hill and James Moore at the cabinet table. I suppose Harper could Betty Hinton into cabinet instead of Stock to give B.C. three cabinet seats. In any event, no one’s yet explained how Harper would get away with just two cabinet representatives from B.C. when Alberta could have more than twice that many.
• Monte Solberg is not going to be in cabinet, some of my sources say. If Solberg is not in the cabinet, it might be because of a performance that was described as “dreadful” by some when his party unveiled the cost of its election platform. A source who will be part of the PMO says Solberg’s performance at that event was “an eyeopener” to Harper and s/he didn’t mean that in a good way. I tend to think that Solberg’s overall competence and political smarts trump that particular campaign hiccup and that Harper will put Solberg in the cabinet. None of the sources I spoke to have him in Finance. Those that do have him in have him in Foreign Affairs. I still like him for Public Works but there are those within his party who believe Harper may overlook for him Cabinet.  “This is the battle formation,” a senior Conservative source said, noting that Monday’s cabinet will be filled with the people who will take the Tories to the next election and who must deliver on the five priorities.
• There is a growing consensus Rob Nicholson will get Finance.
• I picked Senator Hugh Segal (Ontario) as the Government Leader in the Senate but I would not be surprised if Senator Marjory LeBreton (Ontario) took that job. Late this week, I had a Conservative staffer make a convincing argument that Sen. Noel Kinsella (New Brunswick) will keep his job as the top Conservative in the Senate — and be the political minister for New Brunswick rather than Greg Thompson.
• Saskatchewan will have one minister for sure and possibly two. They will be, in this order, Carol Skelton and Gerry Ritz. I had originally picked Skelton but I thought that if there would be two from Saskatchewan, Lynne Yelich would be number two.
• Jason Kenney gets in cabinet as House Leader say several sources. So does Jay Hill — Hill was Opposition House Leader in the last Parliament — but look for him to be tapped for something like Natural Resources. I’m of two minds here. I think the other house leaders — Michel Gauthier of the Bloc Quebecois and Libby Davies of the NDP — get along well with Hill (or at least better than they might be with Kenney) and, because of that, there would be a basis for productive negotiations. On the other hand, I think Harper believes Kenney is more of a master of the ins and outs of House protocol which may be more important for the government as it tries to get the Conservative platform adopted in a minority Parliament. If Kenney is not House Leader, he will not be in cabinet but would likely be the Whip.
• Steven Fletcher, who represents a Winnipeg area riding and was health critic in the last Parliament, does not make the cabinet. Harper may see him as having potential but still too young and inexperienced.  If that’s true, Manitoba would have only one individual at the cabinet table — Vic Toews.
• Gordon O'Connor will not be in cabinet but his riding neighbour Scott Reid will be and will be given the “Democratic Renewal” portfolio.
• Diane Finley, the wife of winning war room director Doug Finley, and Bev Oda will be in from Ontario. Oda gets Heritage. Don't know what Finley gets but not Agriculture. Finley was agriculture critic in the last Parliament and Oda was Heritage critic.
• Diane Ablonczy is in but likely gets the very big task of managing HRDC. Some sources I’ve spoken to say Ablonczy is not in but that Solberg is in. Solberg travelled to Ottawa over the weekend. Ablonczy, I’m told, is still in Calgary.
• One source told me that most of the leading lights have been told that they should stay in the country this weekend and be ready to travel. Another source says that those who are not getting a cabinet job have already been given the bad news.
• Brian Jean (Fort McMurray-Athabaska) knows he’s not going into cabinet, but he sent his leader a DVD resume hoping for a decent Committee chair or other plum assignment. 

The Privy Council Office (PCO) announced late this afternoon that a third-party arbitrator ruled that David Dingwall (left), former president of the Royal Canadian Mint and Chretien-era cabinet minister, left his job at the mint “involuntarily” and that he is entitled to a significant severance package.

I reported on this story this evening for our national newscast.

Some primary documents and extended interviews:

First, the press release from the PCO was put out around 3:30 pm Ottawa time on Saturday. With a new government ready to be sworn in on Monday, the release comes out at a time when almost all political staff on the Liberal side have already handed in their government-issue BlackBerrys and cell phones so it was difficult reaching Liberal politicians or political spokespeople.

[Arbitrator] Mr. [George] Adams has concluded that Mr. Dingwall's departure was involuntary and the Government has a legal obligation to pay him $417,780, as well as associated pension benefits. The binding award of the arbitrator has the force of a court order, and the Government has respected the decision. This amount is subject to the provisions of the Income Tax Act.

We tried unsuccessfully to reach David Dingwall for his comment but, late Saturday night, his lawyer issued the following statement:

This release is issued on behalf of Heenan Blaikie and Nelligan O'Brien Payne, counsel to Mr. David Dingwall, and responds to earlier releases issued on February 4, 2006 by the Government of Canada and Mr. Stephen Harper.

 

The matter of Mr. Dingwall's departure was referred to binding arbitration before the Honourable George Adams, QC, a well-known and respected labour aribtrator and mediator.

 

“Mr. Dingwall is satisfied with that result and pleased that the government is

complying with its legal obligations.  He is also grateful that his situation has been independently reviewed and that he can now put behind him the difficulties of the

last several months”, said Janice Payne, lawyer with Nelligan O’Brien Payne.”

Prime minister-designate Stephen Harper issued a brief statement:

“After months of evasive answers in the House of Commons, we have now learned that David Dingwall’s departure from the Royal Canadian Mint was involuntary. This is contrary to the information given by the Liberal government. I am very disappointed that Parliament was misled on this matter. The public now has all the facts, and it will be the judge of the Liberals’ actions in this affair.”