The pundits and government spinners were unanimous after the July 15 cabinet shuffle — prime minister Stephen Harper had reserved his key economic portfolios for experienced hands while introducing newbies elsewhere.
So just to be clear, the “steady hands” on the key economic portfolios included Jim Flaherty at finance, Tony Clement as president of the Treasury Board and Jason Kenney in his new job at employment.
Oh yes, and there was trusted minister James Moore, who moved to industry.
So that does it. All the key economic portfolios remain in trusted hands.
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That was the narrative from and after the cabinet shuffle.
Oddly (or not so oddly in a country that takes agriculture and food for granted), there was no or rare mention of the fact that the agriculture ministry was handed back to Gerry Ritz, a six year veteran and surely one of Harper’s steady hands.
And the last time anyone looked, the farm and food sector was one of Canada’s most important economic sectors — creator of tens of billions in economic activity, hundreds of thousands of jobs and the source of one of the most robust export sectors in the country.
With the decline of the auto manufacturing sector, the food sector has become the largest Ontario industrial sector.
It is a major factor in provincial economies across the Prairies, in Quebec and in several Maritime provinces.
Yet the re-appointment of a “steady hand” at the helm of Agriculture Canada that oversees one of the key engines of the Canadian economy rates almost no attention from government spinners or the financial analysts.
Agriculture sector leaders keep talking about the need to elevate the profile of their industry.
There can be no better illustration of why that is needed than the commentary from the latest cabinet shuffle.
