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Differing views expressed on Wynne’s cabinet shuffle


By Bill Rea
There might be some benefits coming Caledon's way from last month's shuffling of Premier Kathleen Wynne's cabinet.
With just months to go before the next election, some MPPs have been promoted to the front benches, and some senior ministers have been moved to new responsibilities.
One move that is likely to impact Caledon was the shift of Steven Del Duca from the Transportation portfolio to Economic Development and Growth. He has been replaced by Cambridge MPP Kathryn McGarry, who has been moved from the Natural Resources and Forestry file.
Mayor Allan Thompson thought that was going to be good news.
“I think Kathryn McGarry will be a nice fit,” he commented.
Thompson pointed out there are a number of contentious issues involved with the Transportation Ministry, and he's hopeful that she will be able to move things forward.
Del Duca had told Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones in November that an announcement on the GTA West Corridor, which traverses Caledon, would be coming soon.
Thompson didn't think the shuffle is going to have much of an impact there, because he believes any such announcement will come from the Premier's Office.
“I'm optimistic we're going to hear by the end of the month,” he said. “Fingers crossed, we'll see what goes.”
“We've been held hostage a long time on this,” he added.
Jones was not as optimistic.
“This will be another excuse not to make a decision of the GTA West Corridor,” she remarked. “We're going to see yet another delay.”
Jones was also not impressed with the shuffle in general.
“I think it's a little too late to be shuffling at this stage,” she commented, adding she didn't think the new ministers will have time before the election to get any needed work done. “Playing around with ministers at this stage is not useful.”
Bob Gordanier, who will be the Liberal candidate in Dufferin-Caledon in the coming campaign, seemed pretty impressed with the shuffle.
“I think Kathleen's picked a lot of good people to move,” he commented.
He said moving Del Duca was “a huge move,” adding he did a good job at Transportation, but he's confident McGarry is up to the new job.
“She's a very capable lady, believe me,” he declared.
Gordanier commented that moving people around is part of running a business. “I think this is basically the same type of move,” he remarked, adding he's spoken to McGarry about the need to get GO Transit service in Bolton. It's been talked about since 2010, he remarked, commenting Jones hasn't done much to bring it about. He added he couldn't remember the last time Jones even mentioned it in the legislature. “It is not even in the Conservatives' platform,” he said.
Green Party candidate Laura Campbell said she had not paid much attention to the shuffle.
“It's essentially more of the same,” she remarked, adding it's so close to the ewlection that none of these ministers are going to be able to see through any major initiatives. “It doesn't really pay off for the people of Ontario.”
Post date: 2018-02-07 15:31:47
Post date GMT: 2018-02-07 20:31:47
Post modified date: 2018-02-09 11:59:44
Post modified date GMT: 2018-02-09 16:59:44
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