Missed this from yesterday, but NDP Leader Jack Layton announced a slight tweak to his shadow cabinet lineup, a tweak that was forced upon him by the departure of Dawn Black. Black quit as an MP to run for the NDP in BC. She had been Layton's Defence Critic and, in my opinion, she had been a very effective critic, often digging up important information on her file and forcing the government to respond to the NDP's defence agenda. That, in my view, is the definition of an effective critic: You're able to force the government to talk about your file from time to time. Dawn did that very well.
Now it's up to St. John's East MP Jack Harris to fill Dawn's shoes. Harris, like Black, was in the House of Commons a long time ago, lost, and then was re-elected under Layton's leadership. Layton has named him as National Defence Critic.
Harris will give keep his job as Critic for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and for the Atlantic Gateway but will give up his job as Public Safety Critic to Vancouver area MP Don Davies. Davies now has a full plate, as he is and will continue to be Critic for Metro Vancouver, Multiculturalism, and Western Economic Diversification.