June 23, 2008

Cabinet Shuffle

The cabinet shuffle Premier Campbell made sees four new ministers and one who's resurrected. When switches of existing ministers are counted, a dozen positions are affected. Some say that's a bigger cabinet shuffle than was anticipated, but one has to ask whether any cabinet shuffle matters when the Campbell government is a one-man-band.

In his recent book about Bill Bennett, former deputy minister Bob Plecas wrote: "By and large, Premier Bennett ran a laissez-faire cabinet. He allowed his ministers great latitude to get on with their mandates." In the Campbell government ministers not only do not run their ministries, but they are pushed from the limelight at even the smallest of announcements as the Premier hogs the stage. The newcomers to Campbell's cabinet may soon discover that although their pay has increased, but they have no more power than a backbencher.

Plecas also wrote: "Somehow we think that when we take people who have political ambitions off the street and put them into cabinet, they become smarter. They day after they are sworn in they are supposed to have all the answers, when most haven't learnt what questions to ask." He might have added that some new ministers immediately become more arrogant, thinking they are better than they were a day earlier.

One of the old hands who was shuffled is Rich Coleman, frequently criticized as former Minister of Forests and Housing. He keeps his responsibility for housing in his move to what is now called the Ministry of Housing and Social Development (formerly the Ministry of Income and Employment Assistance). Notwithstanding job growth in BC, data from this ministry shows that welfare caseloads have been rising. In April 2007 there were 38,025 temporary assistance cases and 61,563 disability cases; in April 2008 there were 39,653 temporary assistance cases and 66,173 disability cases. The annual increases are 4.3% for temporary and 7.5% for disability assistance. Welfare advocates point out that many more people would be on the assistance roles rather than on the streets if it weren't for the mean policies adopted by the Campbell government in its first term. It will be necessary to keep an eye on Coleman and on data coming out of his ministry to see if he is any more compassionate than his predecessors.

Joan McIntyre, formerly of polling fame, now MLA for West Vancouver-Garibaldi, has gotten a pay raise by being appointed as Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations. McIntyre is a pleasant person but most would say Ralph Sultan, MLA for West Vancouver-Capilano is head and shoulders ahead of most members of his caucus, and clearly the brightest MLA on the North Shore. Perhaps the one-man-band couldn't tolerate someone of Sultan's stature at the cabinet table.