Little more than window dressing

Reacting to yesterday’s Conservative Cabinet shuffle Nipissing-Timiskaming MP Anthony Rota says the move amounted to little more than window dressing for a possible spring election.

“Stephen Harper simply put old faces in new places,” says Rota.

“Replacing Rona Ambrose with John Baird in the Environment portfolio for instance, will likely do very little to add any substance to the Harper government’s environmental policy.”

“Mr. Baird has little or no expertise when it comes to addressing environmental issues,” he states.

“What Mr. Baird is known for best,” says Mr. Rota, “is his aggressive style in the House of Commons, and I am not convinced that a person as adversarial as him is necessarily capable of building bridges across parties to reach an accord on the environment.”

Rota also said that he feels Stephen Harper fell well short in addressing the need for greater gender balance in Cabinet.

“The Liberals believe in the importance of representing all Canadians, in terms of geography and gender,” says Rota.

“By relegating women to predominantly minor roles in his Cabinet, Stephen Harper is all but ignoring over 50% of the Canadian population.”

Rota also states that the shuffle does little to help improve conditions for the Nipissing-Timiskaming riding.

“Stephen Harper continues to turn his back on the people of Northern Ontario, as evidenced by the fact that Tony Clement (the Minster responsible for FedNor) has done very little for this region, and yet has been allowed to maintain his portfolio.”

According to Rota, “Little has changed in terms of how the Harper Government operates; Canadians will not be fooled be a game of musical chairs.”