Prime Minister Paul Martin of Canada is announcing his new cabinet today. There is stability at the very top. Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan and Finance Minister Raph Goodale will keep their current posts. But other noteable changes have occurred. David Anderson, the Environment Minister, a former Olympian and a member of cabinets for over a decade, has been sacked. Foreign Minister Bill Graham, a former Director of the Centre of International Studies at the University of Toronto, is being moved to the Defence Ministry. Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew will take over the top slot at the Foreign Ministry. Former hockey star Ken Dryden is expected to be named to a low-level cabinet post. In general the cabinet is said to move slightly to the left politically. Many people were watching to see if Martin would use this opportunity to try to reach out to disaffected supporters of former Prime Minister Chretien. But with the possible exception of adding Stephane Dion (who may fill the Environment portfolio) to his team, it appears that Martin chose not to move in that direction.
Posted by armand at July 20, 2004 09:15 AM | TrackBack | Posted to Politics