CABINET ANNOUNCEMENT: Schulte, Sorbara not selected but optimistic they can contribute

YorkRegion.com
Nov. 4, 2015
Adam Martin-Robbins

Vaughan doesn't have a representative in newly minted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s inaugural cabinet.

Neither King-Vaughan MP-elect Deb Schulte nor Vaughan-Woodbridge MP-elect Francesco Sorbara were among the 31 ministers named during a swearing-in ceremony Wednesday morning in Ottawa.

But both are optimistic they can make significant contributions.

“This is just the first step of getting the right people in leadership positions, but the rest of us will be playing support,” Schulte said in a phone interview from Ottawa Wednesday. “There’s lots of things that we can do as MPs on committees so I’m very, very excited about the opportunities that are there for us.”  

As a longtime environmental activist, Schulte is looking forward to meeting with Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna to talk about the work that needs to get done on that file.

And, as a former municipal councillor, Schulte is familiar with the infrastructure challenges facing cities and towns, especially in the GTA.

So she plans to connect with Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi to discuss those issues.

“We have an excellent and diverse team here with the Liberal party of Canada and the Liberal government. It’s great bench strength to use a sports analogy,” said Sorbara. “It’s a strong group of people and we’ll all contributions to make.”

 Sorbara, who worked as a corporate bond analyst, said he’d like to sit down with Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Sohi to talk about pension reform, issues affecting seniors, transit and transportation, among other things.  

Trudeau, who will also serve as minister of intergovernmental affairs and youth, appointed 15 women and seven representatives from the GTA to his leadership team.

Among them is a pair of York Region representatives, Markham-Stouffville Liberal MP Jane Philpott and Markham-Thornhill Liberal MP John McCallum.

Philpott, a rookie politician who worked as a family physician, will serve as minister of health while McCallum, a political veteran, has been named immigration minister.

They, along with Schulte and Sorbara, were elected as part of the red wave that swept across the country during the October 19 federal election enabling the Liberals to oust the Stephen Harper-led Conservatives from office after nearly a decade.

In total, the Grits captured 184 seats to form the government while the Tories, with 99 seats, were relegated to Official Opposition status.

Before the election, which saw Vaughan split into two much-smaller ridings, the city was represented in Ottawa by Conservative MP Julian Fantino.

He served in four different cabinet posts, including veterans affairs minister and associate minister of defence, during four years in office.

Fantino, a former police chief and OPP commissioner, was shuffled out of portfolios three times in the wake of widely reported controversies.

Sorbara defeated Fantino to take the Vaughan-Woodbridge riding during the October election.