The new cabinet Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday will almost certainly be stronger than the premier’s previous team. Refreshingly, people who have demonstrated merit have been given larger responsibilities and those who have struggled have been demoted. That’s as it should be.
The question is whether this is a new team of people going in the same direction as their predecessors, or if this “reset” the government keeps talking about will mean a smarter, less-confrontational approach.
Shuffling the cabinet will not do anything in the short term for Ford’s own low popularity numbers. Some key cabinet ministers were demoted Thursday, but that doesn’t relieve Ford of responsibility for their performance. At this point, popularity is an unrealistic goal for Ford. The best he can hope for is to head a competent team, and Thursday’s changes take him in that direction.
Moving Rod Phillips from environment to finance was the smartest move Ford made. Phillips faced a huge challenge in dismantling the Liberals’ cap-and-trade regime, but he carried it out without the predicted disastrous consequences. Phillips also produced a climate change plan that is more detailed and coherent than the one just delivered by the federal Conservative Party.
Phillips is calm, rational, a persuasive speaker and he has a strong business and managerial background. He will need all of that as he tries to eliminate the deficit. As his predecessor Vic Fedeli proved, that is a hugely unpopular task. Fedeli was blamed for a poor rollout of his first budget. It’s actually a solid plan, but the minister lost control of the message with a string of small cuts that were too controversial for the tiny dollar savings they delivered.
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See Also:
(1) Doug Ford gives $165K appointments to insiders and lacrosse player connected to Dean French
(2) Ford’s firing of finance minister in cabinet shuffle’s a frank admission of failure
(3) Fairhaven long-term care facility in Peterborough to lose $204,000 in provincial funding
(4) A New Highway is Moving Forward in Brampton
