Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on changes to the Ministry

January 04, 2011

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today made the following remarks on changes to the Ministry:
 
“Good afternoon.
 
“Once again, Canadians have just come through a year during which the rewards of prudent financial stewardship, and of appropriate, well-timed stimulus measures have yielded dividends, in jobs and growth.
 
“As the IMF reported a few days before Christmas, Canada has done better, far better, than its peers among the advanced countries.  It is a good note upon which to start a new year.
 
“However, the global recovery is fragile.  Nothing can be taken for granted.  And there are still far too many Canadians for whom the recovery has yet to become a full reality.  That is why the economy remains the number-one priority for Canadians, and must remain the number-one priority for our government.
 
“This is a time for stability, not for uncertainty.  For the reduction of the deficit, not for the expansion of government.  In short, for continuing proven approaches that work and have brought us safely thus far, not for economic adventurism.
 
“That brings us to why we are here today.  The Honourable Jim Prentice, my friend and colleague from Calgary Centre North, has moved on.  The fine tuning of the Ministry necessitated by his departure will be consistent with our intention to stay the course.
 
“To succeed him as Minister of the Environment, I have chosen the Honourable Peter Kent.  As Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Peter more than earned this promotion.
In addition to capably representing his Thornhill riding, Peter has been a respected and articulate voice for Canada in the Americas, and indeed, around the world.
 
“I also want to take this opportunity to thank the Hon. John Baird, for his capable and experienced exercise of the responsibilities of Minister of the Environment over the past two months.
 
“Also, as a result of Peter Kent’s promotion, I am announcing three more appointments to fine-tune the Ministry.  The Honourable Diane Ablonczy will replace Peter as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.  During her former tenure as Minister of State for Seniors, Diane has done tremendous work as she has in all her previous assignments.  In her new position, Diane will be advancing Canada’s objectives in the Americas.  She will also have new responsibilities for Consular operations worldwide.  The addition of this duty to her portfolio is intended to strengthen our oversight of this vital task.
 
“We are also pleased to welcome to our Ministry Julian Fantino, who recently won a hard-fought election to Parliament, and now represents the great constituency of Vaughan.  Julian will take over from Diane as Minister of State for Seniors.  Obviously, the aging of a large portion of Canada’s population has many urgent
policy implications for our government: he will be busy.  However, Canada’s seniors
are in good hands, thanks to the experience he has accumulated and judgment he has demonstrated over his long and illustrious career of public service.
 
“Finally, I have asked Ted Menzies to join our ministry to take up a new position created to support the work of the Minister of Finance.  Our Government’s first priority is the priority of Canadians – the economy.  Ted’s new role as Minister of State for Finance recognizes the increasing workload that he has undertaken while serving as Minister Flaherty’s Parliamentary Secretary as our government during the challenges of the global recession.  In this new role, Ted will continue his exemplary work with Minister Flaherty on all of his responsibilities, including finalizing the 2011 Budget which will lay out our government’s plan to continue to emerge strongly from the global recession and to do so during a period of fiscal restraint; working with Canadian financial institutions to help keep them strong and to help them capitalize
on their strengthened position in the world; and reforming our retirement security system to help ensure that we give Canadians the tools they need to plan for their retirement.
 
“I want to congratulate Ted, Julian, Diane, and Peter as they take up their new posts.”