The new cabinet announced by prime minister Stephen Harper this week shows the government is maintaining stability, says Nanaimo-Alberni MP James Lunney.
“There are some changes necessitated by retiring members and two that were defeated, so there had to be a change,” he said. “I think the overall message is one of stability.”
While he said many key ministers are in the same positions, there have been some big wins for B.C.
“One big win for B.C. is Ed Fast from Abbotsford,” Lunney said. “ He’s now Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway. That’s super. He was our chair of the Justice Committee in the last parliament and was in Nanaimo to speak at our Christmas banquet. He’s a close personal friend.”
Another big win for this province, he said, is the appointment of Richmond’s Alice Wong to the post of Minister of State for Seniors.
Lunney was not named to the cabinet, but he said he doesn’t see that as a problem.
“We have such a talent pool could replace the 40 members of Cabinet with ministers two or three times over and still have very competent people,” he said. “With 19 new people from Ontario, one of the challenges of building a cabinet is the need for regional representation. We have to be realistic. We could have half the cabinet from Alberta alone, although that wouldn’t go over very well.”
