The Doug Ford cabinet.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his cabinet were sworn in today at Queen’s Park. Who are some of the key cabinet ministers with major responsibilities that we will be keeping watch on in the days and weeks to come?
– Greg Rickford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, and Minister of Indigenous Affairs
As Stephen Harper’s minister of natural resources Rickford refused to commit the federal dollars needed to complete the construction of Freedom Road for Shoal Lake 40. NDP MPP-elect Sara Singh says having a “part-time” minister devoted to Indigenous relations is just “not good enough”.
– Christine Elliott, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and Deputy Premier
As the party’s health critic, Elliott has supported the private sector playing a bigger role in the health care system, including services such as MRIs, home care, cataract surgeries and dialysis treatment.
– Rod Phillips, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Phillips has served as both the chair of Postmedia, which includes the Ottawa Citizen and the National Post, and the CEO of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. This ministry was previously known as the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.
– Jim Wilson, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
Wilson was previously the Minister of Health then the Minister of Energy, Science and Technology under Premier Mike Harris. Ford has indicated that NAFTA will be a key priority for his government.
– Peter Bethlenfalvy, President of the Treasury Board
Bethlenfalvy was the chief investment officer at CST Consultants Inc., has been a senior vice-president of financial regulations at Manulife Financial, and is a member of the C.D. Howe Institute’s services research initiative.
– Laurie Scott, Minister of Labour
As an MPP, Scott said there is no point in increasing the minimum wage if employees don’t have jobs to go to and furthermore promised a PC government would “rip up” the Green Energy Act.
The full list of Ford’s cabinet ministers can be seen here. TVO also comments, “The Ford cabinet is overwhelmingly white and male: of the 21 ministers (seven fewer than in Wynne’s last cabinet), only seven are women, and only one — Raymond Cho, minister responsible for seniors’ affairs — is a person of colour.”
A People’s Rally on Queen’s Park is now being organized for Saturday July 14 in which “young people, old people, academics, activists, workers, artists, healthcare professionals, teachers, parents, and everyday people from all over the province will come together to call for robust public services and to call for equity in public policy decisions.”
