Will new cabinet bring new ideas? MP not sure

Nov 20, 2019 | 5:47 PM

Mel Arnold says time will tell if the new Liberal cabinet is much different than the old one, but at this point, he doesn’t see much change.

The newly-reelected Conservative MP says the return of Bill Morneau as finance minister likely means more of the same spending by the Trudeau government.

“I think we can expect the same out-of-control spending and continued deficits. There is no plans to get back to balanced budgets with that same minister in charge.”

Arnold told Vernon Matters he’s also concerned this will be the fourth fisheries minister in as many years, with Montreal-area MP Bernadette Jordan taking over the portfolio.

Arnold is a member of the Fisheries and Oceans Committee.

Charger rollout

Phased approach planned for EV chargers at Vernon ALC

20h ago

Secondary Dwellings

Coldstream considering more housing on agricultural lands

22h ago

Wildfire Risks

Okanagan's Fire Danger Rating already up to Moderate

Apr 23, 2026

“I’m concerned there, but I hope to be able to work with the new fisheries minister and bring the resources that I’ve been looking for to deal with the aquatic invasive species issue and prevention right through the Okanagan and Shuswap areas.”

Manitoba MP Jim Carr has been appointed cabinet’s ‘special representative’ for the prairie provinces, where no Liberal MP’s were elected in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Arnold says that won’t help if the Liberals continue to disregard the resource sector.

“We’ve seen this government turn its backs on the resource sector; [I’m not sure] whether he will be able to bring that to their attention in cabinet or not. But he obviously voted with the previous government that has left our resource sector — that’s everything from oil and gas to forestry — in bad shape in the west,” Arnold stated.

Arnold says it’s too soon to predict how well the new Liberal minority government will function, given that the NDP and Bloc Quebecois are not supportive of pipelines.

“Trudeau has continuously said he’s going to build the Kinder Morgan pipeline and we haven’t seen one inch of pipeline laid and there is still court battles ongoing. He is going to need support from somewhere to get that moving forward.”

Arnold says Conservative support for the pipeline will depend on what the actual legislation or motions are.

“We certainly want to see the pipeline move forward. We know how much it means for jobs right here in the North Okanagan. We have so many sector workers that commute out of the area and sometimes within the area.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he has no concerns about the members of Trudeau’s new cabinet, but he wants to see them effectively address Canadians’ worries.

Singh says the new titles for some ministers appear to be just buzzwords — pointing to the new minister of middle-class prosperity as an example.

He says he wants to see a commitment from the government to Canadians worried about losing their jobs and making ends meet, and a clear plan for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

(With files from Canadian Press)

by Pete McIntyre

View Comments