There were much less hugs that in 2015.
The 23rd Prime Minister was a clamp, possibly the most intense in Canadian history. The 24 prefers a firm handshake, with his left hand in the elbow of the other person. Each of Mark Carney ministers received some version of that greeting after having sworn their oaths.
Carney is apparently a different type of person. In the limited space of his first day as Prime Minister, and with an electoral campaign perhaps more than a week away, at least he could try to point out the change.
“The new Government of Canada is changing the way we work so that we can offer better results faster for all Canadians,” said Carney. “We have new ministers with new ideas ready to respond to new threats and take advantage of new opportunities.”
There was no parade on the entrance path of Rideau Hall and there were only two dozen ministers to swear, seven less than the first Justin Trudeau cabinet in 2015 and 15 less than the last Trudeau cabinet. Eighteen liberal parliamentarians who woke up as ministers on Friday morning were not included in the Ministry that Carney recommended the general governor.
“The new Government of Canada will be oriented to action, promoted by a smaller but highly experienced team, made to fulfill at the time we are,” he boasted.
Chrystia Freeland, the liberal of Trudeau par excellence who was viceprimer minister and finance minister before She left spectacularly in DecemberHe is back in the cabinet, but only as Minister of Transportation. Steven Guilbeault, the famous environmentalist who became the face of the Trudeau climate agenda, is now the Minister of Heritage, restored as “Canadian culture and identity” (perhaps to convey that such things currently need protection).
Mar Miller, Trudeau’s childhood friend who had become an outstanding minister, was completely removed from the cabinet.
The transfer to a smaller cabinet, if Carney adheres to him, could have ramifications because of the way the government operates. And if this cabinet, or some version of it, really has the opportunity to really govern after the next elections, there will be more to discuss. But on Friday there were mostly details at the surface level to discuss.
Speaking to journalists, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said the words “women”, “youth” and “diversity” do not appear in the work titles of any of Carney Ministers, and the Minister of Labor is now the Minister of “Jobs”. The conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and the leader of Blocécois Yves-François Blanchet questioned why the “official languages” are not mentioned.
Such changes could say something about Carney’s government priorities, but that could only become clear when liberals release an electoral platform.
It will also be observed that Alberta, Saskatchewan and Prince Eduardo island have no representation in the cabinet. Such are the challenges of building a cabinet in a representative democracy.
Pailievre’s broader argument was that the arrival of Carney does not change anything. The conservative leader has emphasized that liberals run for a fourth mandate, sometimes holding four fingers to accentuate the point.
“It is the same liberal gang with the same liberal agenda, the same liberal results and the same liberal promise of the last 10 years,” said Pailievre in his response to the new cabinet.
With the blow of a pen, carbon tax is removed
But the point of disagreement more substantive on the 1st of the Carney government referred to the carbon tax, one of the defining policies of The second era of Canada Trudeau and the goal of so much conservative criticism in the last three years.
Shortly after the swearing in Rideau Hall, Carney summoned her ministers within the Cabinet Room in Parliament Hill and signed an order to eliminate federal fuel positionThe policy also known as consumer carbon tax. The television cameras were even invited to the meeting to witness the firm.
“We have already made a great decision like this cabinet because this is a cabinet focused on action,” said Carney.
With that, the federal cabinet effectively killed carbon tax.
Prime Minister Mark Carney signed his first government business, saying that he is eliminating the consumer fuel position immediately. Carney said that Canadians who have been receiving reimbursements will continue to receive them until the end of April.
But speaking shortly before Carney placed his signature at the order on the Council, Pailievre argued that everything was a cliff. Holding a copy of the In -winter gas pollution prices law, Pailievre said that the tax enable legislation was still in the books. As a result, Poilievre suggested, a Carney government could simply recover the carbon tax after the next elections.
The law will continue to exist less or until Parliament repeals it. But the act does not include only consumer carbon tax: it also includes the carbon price system for industrial emissions. And it is not clear if any party believes that the legislation must be repealed in its entirety. Although Pailievre has criticized the declared intention of Carney to “improve and tighten” the system for the industry, Pailievre himself has stopped to say that he would repeal the industrial price.
Carney may believe that the page has changed in a divisive theme. And Pailievre can insist that the spectrum of carbon tax still hangs on Canadians. But what really remains to answer is the question of what each leader would do to reduce Canada’s emissions.
The new prime minister can soon return to Rideau Hall to launch an electoral campaign in which it will be one of the many questions to discuss.
