On balance, a better mix of ministers

G&M éditorial 16.1.02

Jean Chrétien appears to have finally accepted what most Canadians noticed long ago. His cabinet was well overdue for a house cleaning.

Gone is Public Works Minister Alfonso Gagliano, who should not have been offered the face-saving alternative Mr. Chrétien designed for his embarrassing Quebec lieutenant. Mr. Gagliano will become Canada's ambassador to Denmark, raising the question: What did Denmark do to deserve this? Canadian taxpayers will be dismayed to learn Mr. Gagliano will remain on the public payroll.

Gone also are Hedy Fry and Maria Minna, both of whom demonstrated ample poor judgment in cabinet. Ms. Fry is still remembered for her ridiculous comment that racists were burning crosses on lawns in Prince George. In a brief time, Ms. Minna has managed to generate several scandals, including one involving contracts from her department that were awarded to her former campaign managers.

Mr. Chrétien has finally demonstrated publicly that he will not endlessly support scandalous cabinet ministers. His prior strategy to ignore obvious problems did not convince anyone that all was well, and served only to make him look arrogant and defensive, or perhaps simply foolish.

The Prime Minister also deserves points for creativity. He appointed the popular John Manley as his new Deputy Prime Minister, a job that normally sounds more important than it actually is. The twist is that Mr. Manley will also become the minister responsible for infrastructure, Crown corporations and antiterrorism policy.

That is a jumble of a job description, and could prove enormously powerful if it gives Mr. Manley a say in a broad spectrum of government activity. Alternatively, it could fail to live up to its billing. Mr. Manley could find it difficult to implement an agenda without direct control over a department and its finances. Certainly the power of the job depends almost entirely on the favour of the Prime Minister, which will make it a highly political undertaking.

Mr. Chrétien has also elevated 10 new MPs to cabinet, taking better advantage of the pool of talent he had to draw upon. The Liberals hold 172 seats in the House of Commons, and Mr. Chrétien had no need to cling to mediocre players when his back benches were full of untapped potential.

One of the biggest promotions was awarded to Toronto MP Bill Graham, who has vaulted into the high-profile job of Foreign Minister. Mr. Graham was previously chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, several notches down the totem pole from cabinet minister. His background does not make him an obvious candidate for an extremely delicate portfolio, so he has much to prove.

This cabinet shuffle does not answer the biggest question in Ottawa, which is whether Mr. Chrétien will retire soon, or at all. But it shows that he is prepared to govern for the remainder of his term in office, and not simply cruise to the finish on the easiest path of inaction. Perhaps a refreshed cabinet with new faces and new portfolios can help breathe a little life into a stale regime.