Will the harsh publicity spotlight that shone on Gerry Ritz during the election campaign over jokes he made in the midst of the listeria crisis cost him his job in cabinet?
Dawson Creek, B.C., producer Ross Ravelli said he hopes not.
The president of Grain Growers of Canada said Ritz has done a good job since being given the agriculture portfolio in mid-2007.
“We all make mistakes but I see no reason that he should lose the job,” Ravelli said after Ritz was re-elected in his Saskatchewan seat Oct. 14.
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Liberal agriculture critic Wayne Easter scoffs at the thought, even though he would relish the chance to hound Ritz in question period in the House of Commons over the Conservative government’s food safety and inspection record.
“I don’t think you’ll see Gerry back in that job,” said Easter, re-elected in his Prince Edward Island riding. “He just disappeared during the election campaign and I don’t think (prime minister Stephen) Harper would want to expose him to the kind of scrutiny that he would get in Parliament.”
If Ritz doesn’t get the job, who would?
“I think it will be James Bezan,” said Easter. “He has done a good job as agriculture committee chair and I think he’ll be promoted.”
Bezan, a 43-year-old cattle producer, was elected for the third time in his Manitoba riding.
Also mentioned in Ottawa speculation is Prince George-Peace River veteran MP and former B.C. Grain Producers’ Association president Jay Hill.
An outside contender, if she wins a vote recount, is Prince Edward Island Conservative Gail Shea, the first Conservative MP from the Island in almost 25 years. Shea, who won her rural seat by 62 votes, would be a likely candidate for a cabinet spot as the province’s sole representative in the government.
She served as a provincial cabinet minister in the 1990s.
Harper may also be tempted to look at regional representation issues when choosing an agriculture minister.
In the last government, Medicine Hat MP Monte Solberg was considered rural Alberta’s representative in cabinet. He has since resigned and Harper may be tempted to reward loyal rural voters in his home province by adding a rural MP to cabinet.
Harper also could consider a member of his enlarged Ontario caucus for the job. Rural Ontario has become a key part of the Conservative power base as voters in close to 40 rural seats where agriculture was an issue sent party candidates to Ottawa.
