Trudeau to shuffle cabinet Friday, filling vacancy left by Jody Wilson-Raybould

Thestar.com
March 1, 2019
Alex Boutiler

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will announce a minor cabinet shuffle Friday morning to fill the vacancy at Veterans Affairs created by Jody Wilson-Raybould’s departure, the Star has confirmed.

Less than two months after Trudeau moved Wilson-Raybould from the justice portfolio to the veterans file, the embattled prime minister must once again shake up cabinet’s ranks.

Less than two months after Justin Trudeau moved Wilson-Raybould from the justice portfolio to the veterans’ file, the embattled prime minister must once again shake up cabinet’s ranks.

The changes announced Friday are expected to be minor, according to a senior government source who would only speak on background after CBC broke the news.

It’s unlikely Trudeau will add new members to the cabinet, instead filling Wilson-Raybould’s vacancy within the existing ranks of ministers.

Wilson-Raybould resigned from cabinet on Feb. 12, during the still-unfolding scandal over alleged political interference while she was Attorney General.

The B.C. MP told the House of Commons justice committee Wednesday that senior members of Trudeau’s office, as well as the country’s top bureaucrat and Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s chief of staff, attempted to pressure her into cutting a deal for Quebec construction giant SNC-Lavalin to avoid criminal fraud and bribery charges.

Canadian veterans have been collateral damage in all the turmoil in Trudeau’s cabinet the past few months -- their department cast as a demotion for Wilson-Raybould.

Trudeau will need to signal to veterans that their issues haven’t been forgotten amid the current, extraordinary discord shaking the government.

Harjit Sajjan has been doing the job part-time since Wilson-Raybould’s departure.