Agriculture Minister to replace Jody Wilson-Raybould in Veterans Affairs
Posted March 1, 2019 6:04 am.
Last Updated March 1, 2019 5:38 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay will be taking over the spot left vacant by Vancouver Granville MP Jody Wilson-Raybould, who stepped down amidst controversy over SNC-Lavalin.
Minister of International Development Marie-Claude Bibeau will be taking over the Agriculture ministry and Status of Women Minister Maryam Monsef will be adding International Development to her responsibilities.
The shakeup comes in the wake of the explosive testimony from Wilson-Raybould.
She had been moved from justice to the veterans file in the last shuffle in January, a move she believes took place because she refused to intervene in the criminal case.
But MacAulay says the controversy has not derailed the government.
“What we said we were going to do is bring more people into the middle class, that’s what we’re doing, reduce poverty, that’s what we’re doing,” he added. “That’s what the agenda is.”
WATCH: Trudeau shuffles cabinet amid SNC-Lavalin affiar
In her bombshell testimony, she said she stepped down because she no longer had confidence to sit at the cabinet table. Next week, the justice committee will hear from Trudeau’s former principal secretary Gerald Butts who resigned last week. The Privy Council clerk and Deputy Minister of Justice will also testify again.
There have been some calls to split the Justice and attorney general roles to prevent controversies like this in the future.
The newly appointed ministers refused to say if they were comfortable with Wilson-Raybould staying in the caucus, pointing out that choice was up to the Prime Minister.
