Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new cabinet has no representation on it from Saskatchewan, but that is something we knew would happen when the Liberals failed to win one of the 14 seats up for grabs in the province on election night with long-time Liberal MP Ralph Goodale losing his seat.
That new cabinet was unveiled on Tuesday and it is one that Premier Scott Moe says is not a matter of who is sitting around the cabinet table, but what decisions they are making.
He says with Goodale in cabinet, there was still disagreeement.
“Listen, we’ve had representation from this province in cabinet over the last four years and he had some very obvious discrepancies.” Moe told reporters at the Saskatchewan Legislature on Wednesday.
He was optimistic about the appointment of Chrystia Freeland as deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. He says he has worked with her in the past and has a favourable working relationship with her on things like NAFTA and the USMCA.
Opposition leader Ryan Meili says he isn’t giving the new cabinet a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, but he is interested to see what new environment minister Jonathan Wilkinson, who once served as the leader of the youth wing of the Saskatchewan New Democrats, will bring when it comes to a Saskatchewan perspective and what role Jim Carr will have. Carr was tabbed as a “special representative” for the Prairies.
Like Moe, Meili says the faces at the table aren’t what’s important, it is the decisions made. He adds both Premier Moe and Prime Minister Trudeau need to both step up and improve relations.