Roundup: A shuffle and a split

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So, there was that relatively small cabinet shuffle yesterday, some of which was telegraphed in advance, some of which became the subject of wild speculation as Trudeau seemingly threw in a couple of red herrings for the pundits to go wildly chasing to no end (LeBlanc and Wilson-Raybould especially). In the end, the new faces are Seamus O’Regan at Veterans Affairs and Ginette Petitpas Taylor to Health, while Carla Qualtrough moves to Public Services and Procurement, Kent Hehr takes over sport and disabilities, and in the biggest move, Jane Philpott moves over to a split Indigenous Affairs portfolio, so that Carolyn Bennett now becomes minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, and Philpott becomes minister of Indigenous Services. While it’s hard to say that Hehr’s move is anything but a demotion, O’Regan’s move is being noted both for his close friendship with Justin Trudeau, as well as his move from rehab to the cabinet table, for what it’s worth. Also of note is the fact that new mandate letters will be forthcoming in the next few weeks, while there was a bit of panic when the old ones were re-issued with new names for the time being.

https://twitter.com/aballinga/status/902238348621881345

https://twitter.com/mike_mcnair/status/902223657031929861

The real news is the fact that Bennett and Philpott’s joint mandate will be to ultimately dismantle Indigenous and Northern Affairs and to create two separate departments that will move the files toward greater self-governance and be a less paternalistic structure for Indigenous communities to deal with – especially since the current structure does not currently suit the North well for Inuit communities, or Métis. Complaints about the creaky bureaucracy hampering the Indigenous file are constant, and structural reform like this is probably the next logical step in moving those particular files forward, but there are already detractors moaning that this will just mean double the bureaucracy and double the obfuscation. Maybe. I’m also dismayed by commentary from the likes of Hayden King who dismiss what the government has done to date as being symbolism and process. Why that bugs me is because process is important. Democracy is process. Changing the fundamental ways in which things happen – i.e. process – is important can’t just be shrugged off because it doesn’t turn into an instant fix. These kinds of issues are systemic and stubborn, and sometimes changing process to get the wheels turning is actual progress, even if it takes a while to see the results. None of this happens overnight – indeed, dismantling INAC won’t either, and step one is yet another consultation process on what the end goals are going to look like so that they can make the split with those in mind. And no doubt, we’ll hear yet more naysayers, but these are changes that will take time to happen.

AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde is happy with the change as a next step to dismantling the Indian Act. Susan Delacourt sees Trudeau keeping his friends close in this shuffle, while Chantal Hébert notes that the Canada-US files remain untouched in the shuffle, which points to how Trudeau is targeted isolated problems while looking to stay the course with the NAFTA talks. Paul Wells looks at Jane Philpott as this government’s go-to fixer, while Aaron Wherry notes the two doctors now in charge of the Indigenous portfolios and what that may mean.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau says there are no plans to remove Sir John A Macdonald’s name from any federal properties.
  • While John Geddes gathers opinion on whether Donald Trump can unilaterally rip up NAFTA, Canadian officials continue to urge calm.
  • Bill Blair says that the provinces are all on board with the notion that legal marijuana needs to be competitive with the black market.
  • Softwood lumber producers in Canada are getting some reprieve as the preliminary duties the Americans have imposed are ending pending a final decision.
  • After years of Shared Services Canada problems, the RCMP is looking to build their own email system since they can’t count on the planned harmonized system.
  • The MMIW Inquiry plans to go ahead with September hearings despite the calls for a “hard reset.”
  • While Carla Qualtrough now gets to deal with the Phoenix pay debacle, there is a spike in new problems as new collective agreements get implemented.
  • Here’s a look at the unfinished files that Jane Philpott leaves behind in the health portfolio.
  • As their role becomes increasingly visible, CSE has engaged in public opinion research to figure out how people perceive them.
  • Academics point to the lack of a coherent policy to respond to the existence of hate groups in Canada.
  • An Indigenous People’s Court has opened in Ottawa to better deal with Indigenous people caught up in the criminal justice system.
  • Xtra talks to Jagmeet Singh about his LGBT policy and his previous dog-whistling about the Ontario sex-ed curriculum.
  • Andrew Coyne savages Mike Duffy’s $8 million lawsuit.

Odds and ends:

This 2014 defence of Sir John A Macdonald has resurfaced and is well worth a read for more context about the accusations being levelled against him.

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/902357850374201344

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/902358785691459588

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/902366298335842304

One thought on “Roundup: A shuffle and a split”

  1. I don’t think it’s acceptable to position Hayden King as some random “naysayer” who doesn’t understand process. He is, after all, First Nations himself, has a PhD, is a university professor, and is an acknowledged expert on the political and legal history of Indigenous-state relations in Canada and contemporary public policy related to First Nations. Understandably, he is not satisfied with symbolism alone on the Indigenous file.

    During his interview on Power & Politics on August 28th, in response to the changes proposed for the Indigenous Affairs portfolio, he said: “Without a more expansive view of treaty and Aboriginal rights then again it just — it becomes more of these symbolic gestures to make it appear as though real change is actually happening, without those concrete steps forward.”

    But, in the same interview, he also said: “I understand that there is a need for process, and it’s regrettable that those processes weren’t established earlier. I would like to be optimistic and say that this restructuring will lead to a genuine nation-to-nation relationship but, given the past 18 months, past two years, and really past 20 years since RCAP, there is a tremendous degree of skepticism that I continue to harbour. “

    I think his skepticism is one that many of us can share without being dismissed as mere naysayers.

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