- OTTAWA (CP) - Paul Martin
was sworn in as Canada's 21st prime minister Friday and moved quickly to
put his stamp on government by appointing a dramatically new cabinet and
promising big changes to the way the country is run.
-
- Martin's cabinet will have two westerners - Ralph Goodale
of Saskatchewan and Anne McLellan from Alberta - in the most senior portfolios
as finance minister and deputy prime minister respectively.
-
- The move is seen as a bid to woo western voters who have
long been alienated from the Liberals.
-
- Martin promised a "new approach" to government.
-
- "As prime minister, I look forward to the opportunity
to rally Canadians toward a new sense of national purpose and around a
new agenda of change and achievement," he said in a statement.
-
- "We are going to change the way things work in Ottawa
in order to re-engage Canadians in the political process and achieve demonstrable
progress on our priorities."
-
- Martin said he will focus on three goals:
-
- - Strengthening social foundations.
-
- - Fostering economic growth and creating well-paying
jobs.
-
- - Promoting Canada's role internationally.
-
- Martin is also creating a new public security department
to be headed by McLellan. The Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Department will combine the tasks of several current bodies to oversee
the RCMP, CSIS and border and port security.
-
- McLellan had been health minister, while Goodale was
in charge of public works.
-
- Martin dropped 22 of the 38 members of Jean Chretien's
cabinet, retaining 16 veteran ministers and filling out the ranks with
longtime backbench supporters. The size of cabinet - 39 members including
the prime minister - has not changed.
-
- Among those ousted from cabinet: Sheila Copps from heritage,
Lyle Vanclief from agriculture, Elinor Caplan from revenue, Martin Cauchon
from justice and David Collenette from transport.
-
- Among those kept on: David Anderson retains environment;
Pierre Pettigrew will hold the dual portfolios of health and intergovernmental
affairs; Bill Graham keeps foreign affairs; John McCallum is moved to veterans
affair from defence; and Lucienne Robillard is shuffled to industry from
Treasury Board.
-
- Prominent newcomers include: Defence Minister David Pratt,
Transport Minister Tony Valeri, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler and Agriculture
Minister Bob Speller.
-
- Allan Rock, former industry minister, becomes Canada's
ambassador to the United Nations
-
- Martin and his cabinet were sworn in at Rideau Hall by
the clerk of the Privy Council less than an hour after Chretien met with
Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson to submit his resignation.
-
- Just before the swearing-in, a native elder conducted
a cleansing ceremony for Martin, fanning sweet-grass smoke over the incoming
prime minister with an eagle feather. Martin has promised to make native
poverty a priority.
-
- Martin is also giving a beefed-up role to backbenchers
who serve as parliamentary secretaries to ministers. Those secretaries
will also be sworn in to the Privy Council, giving them some cabinet privileges.
-
- One of the secretarial roles went to new Liberal Scott
Brison, a young Nova Scotia MP who defected from the Tories this week.
-
- The majority of the new ministers fought long and hard
for Martin in his battle for the Liberal party leadership.
-
- Copyright © 2003 <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/cp/SIG=10kr7s9lm/*http://www.cp.org/>Canadian
Press
-
- Comment
- Frances - Canada
- 12-12-3
-
- Public Safety & Emergency Department, eh?
-
- Wellllll when you look at its "function" it
sounds a lot like the "Homeland Security Office". Told ya, this
jackass says basically "how high" to the Americans whenever they
say jump, and he hasn't even started and already he's doing that.
|
