Cabinet shuffle puts solberg on postsecondary file

Student groups say Finley was absent minister

NADYA BELL CUP OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF

OTTAWA (CUP) — Student groups were glad to see Diane Finley go in the recent federal cabinet shuffle, and are welcoming a new minister responsible for post-secondary education issues.

Monty Solberg was sworn in on Jan. 4 as the minister for Human Resources and Skills Development, while Finley has Solberg’s old portfolio of Citizenship and Immigration.

Student groups and the NDP critic are cautiously optimistic that Solberg will be an improvement over the previous minister, and that he will take an interest in post-secondary education issues.

Diane Finley did not meet with any student groups on post-secondary education during her 10 months in office. Solberg, on the other hand, has met with the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) and the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), the two largest student lobby groups in Canada, on a number of occasions, especially during his work as the opposition critic for Finance.

“I’m confident he will bring forward a vision, and it will be from there to decide whether we oppose it or agree to it,” said Phillippe Ouellette, national director of CASA.

“He doesn’t seem to be the type similar to Minister Finley, where he’ll just jump into the portfolio and go with it . . . I think we’ll be seeing a bit more strategy,”” Ouellette said.

But Ian Boyko from the CFS expressed uncertainty over the new minister’s political views.

“One concern for our members is that he has been a vocal proponent of income-contingent loans, which we are opposed to,” Boyko said.

Income-contingent loans are a system of paying back loans that gives more time to people who are earning less, but also makes them pay more interest.

But despite his politics, Boyko says Solberg is very engaged and is a “pretty sharp MP.”

Denise Savoie, NDP critic for postsecondary education, said Solberg has a reputation as being a respected voice around the cabinet table.

“I’m looking forward to working with Monty. I felt that there wasn’t much action before and I’m really looking forward to a meeting with him,” Savoie said.

“I felt that we were getting nonanswers on some of the key questions from Minister Finley, so I see this as a positive change,” she said.

The portfolio itself, now named Human Resources and Skills Development, but formerly Human Resources and Development Canada, covers a wide range of different programs, from employment insurance, pensions, disability compensation, and student loans.

“This is a huge, huge ministry, it’s almost as if they put everything they don’t like to deal with in it,” Savoie said.

Ouellette says the portfolio has had a rough road over the past five years, without a strong minister for any length of time. “It’s been flopped around so much so we haven’t really had a strong vision for a while,” he said.

Boyko said the childcare issue took up a fair amount of Finley’s time as minister, and likely distracted her from post-secondary education.

Other cabinet shuffles include former environment minister Rona Ambrose, who is moved to Intergovernmental Affairs, while John Baird takes her place. Ambrose was under fire for her handling of public criticism of the Conservative clean air plan.

Vic Towes, the former justice minister, takes Baird’s spot at the Treasury Board, while Robert Douglas Nicholson becomes minister of justice and attorney general of Canada.

Peter Van Loan, MP for York- Simcoe, is new to the cabinet, taking a spot as leader of the government in the House of Commons and minister for democratic reform.

The cabinet changes weren’t the only musical chairs seen in the first weeks of January — the House has also seen a floor-crossing and a planned resignation.

Liberal MP Jean Lapierre, from the Quebec riding of Outremont, announced on Jan. 11 that he would be resigning at the end of the month. Lapierre’s statement came only days after Liberal MP Wajid Khan switched to the Conservative party as the representative for Mississauga- Streetsville.

The changes in the House put the Conservatives in a slightly better position for passing legislation. After Lapierre leaves, there will be 125 Conservatives, 100 Liberals, 51 Bloc Québécois, 29 NDP, two independents and one vacancy.

With the support of the NDP, the Conservatives can pass legislation with a two-seat margin.

MPs return to the House of Commons on Monday, Jan. 29.