New NDP leader Thomas Mulcair inherited just three prairie MPs in his 102-member House of Commons caucus, and his first shadow cabinet of critics gives them little profile.
Winnipeg MP Pat Martin, a six-term veteran and high profile MP, was given just the CWB file and is unlikely to have much Commons time in the foreseeable future.
He is also chair of the Commons government operations and estimates committee that could play a high-profile role in future hearings into government procurement, including controversial military equipment purchases.
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Churchill MP Niki Ashton, who ran against Mulcair at the March NDP leadership convention in Toronto, was named women’s issues critic. She is also chair of the Commons status of women committee and will likely have to give up one of those two positions to avoid accusations of committee chair partisanship if she also is the critic.
Edmonton MP Linda Duncan landed the most visible opposition position of the three in the April 19 announcement as public works and government services critic, pitting her against fellow Edmonton MP and public works minister Rona Ambrose.
The public works department has been handed much of the responsibility for future military procurement, making it the centre of an ongoing political storm.
However, none of these three MP assignments touch on prairie-specific issues that could help give the party increased visibility in its weakest electoral region.
Martin’s low-profile critic assignment caught many by surprise.
He is a sharp-tongued and visible politician who has been a leading NDP critic about allegations against the Conservatives of election fraud in the 2011 campaign.
But last winter, Martin went too far, accusing an Edmonton telephone calling company used by the Conservatives for election messages of being complicit in false election day calls that may have misdirected some voters to wrong or fictitious voting stations.
On April 16, Martin issued an abject apology for his accusations, although he still faces a lawsuit for damages filed by RackNine Inc.
In an April 20 interview from Winnipeg, Martin said his lack of a major critic position within the party caucus is not a sign that he is being disciplined by Mulcair, whom he supported at the leadership convention.
And although the CWB issue may not occupy much parliamentary space these days, “it is a huge issue in my riding and exactly the kind of issue the MP should be engaged in.”
Martin said the minor assignment does not signal tension between him and the new Quebec-based leader.
“I’m not in the doghouse and I don’t feel like I am being disciplined,” he said. “Maybe with the legal issues, a lower profile might be good for awhile.”
Martin, in his sixth parliamentary term, said the fact that he is one of five opposition MPs chairing a Commons committee and head of a committee that will be a high-profile watchdog of government procurement is recognition of his seniority on the Hill.
