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MP for Okanagan-Coquihalla and the new Treasury Board president, Stockwell Day.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has tapped his trusted lieutenant, Okanagan Coquihalla MP Stockwell Day, to lead his government’s efforts to turn off the stimulus spending tap and balance the federal budget.
“It’s not going to be easy,” said Day, who was elevated to lead the Treasury Board from Minister of International Trade, as Harper shuffled his cabinet this morning.
Day said that when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivers his next budget, he will address what is happening with the remainder of the stimulus funds. “It’s not all dispersed yet. It’s been a good plan but it has required us to go into debt and one thing we all know for sure, just in terms of how we run our own household finances, you can’t get out of debt by continuing to go into debt.”
The Treasury Board, which approves government spending, will play a crucial role as the Conservative government tries to make good on its pledge to eliminate the estimated $55.9 billion deficit without hiking taxes while still maintaining services Canadians rely on.
“Sometimes you send [a spending proposal] back for further analysis,” said Day, a former Alberta finance minister. “Sometimes you look at the entire fiscal picture and maybe make a decision that maybe a particular project is not able to go ahead. You identify the priorities, those things you think Canadians are expecting of us and you try and meet those with the dollars we have without raising taxes…and doing it in a way that over a series of a number of years, you can chip away at the debt and eventually balance the budget.”
Day said he was surprised by his change in portfolio.
“You just don’t lie awake at night wondering if there’s a cabinet shuffle or if you’re going to be involved. It’s always interesting when you get the call,” he said. “I think I can meet what the Prime Minster’s asking for.”
Day’s Okanagan colleague, Conservative Kelowna-Lake Country MP, Ron Cannan, said he has no doubt Day is up to the task. “It’s a big challenge but I know he’s up to it. I can’t think of a more qualified colleague.”
Day was not the only minister on the move today.
Lisa Raitt was removed from her Natural Resources post and put into the lower profile Labour Ministry, a move widely seen as a demotion for her handling of the isotope crisis.
Taking her place at Natural Resources is Christian Paradis.
Rona Ambrose meanwhile, who was exiled to the back benches after a tumultuous turn as Environment Minister, has been returned to cabinet as the new Public Works Minister.
Peter Van Loan takes over from Day at International Trade while the previous Treasury Board president, Vic Toews, moves into Van Loan’s old post as Public Safety Minister.
Jean-Pierre Blackburn is the new Minister of Veterans Affairs and minister of state for agriculture. His replacement as Minister of Revenue is Keith Ashfield, who will also be responsible for the Atlantic Gateway and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
Diane Ablonczy is the new minister of state for seniors while Rob Moore takes over for her as minister of state for small business and tourism.
adrian@kelowna.com
250-575-3517
3 Responses to “Harper selects Stockwell Day as his new deficit slayer”
Tags: cabinet shuffle, Kelowna, president, stockwell day, treasury board, West Kelowna
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It won’t be easy, most people believe the recession is over
and the other shoe is about to drop. There are a number of
problems yet unresolved both domestically and off shore.
If it wasn’t so sad it would be funny putting Day in charge
The signal is program cuts and the vulnerable will feel the
effects and bear the burden. The funny thing is the so
called stimulus money was needed so quickly and borrowed so
fast that most people thought change would come immediately
The truth is the government reacted rather than being pro
active, and the money is still not spent. For all those
who keep hearing and believing in the so called green shoots, face it the green shoots happen to be mold, and the
second wave of the financial disaster will hit us mid year.
Most say the problem is in America, understand, over 80% of
our sales are to the United States and they are about to
see a return to severe recession bench marks.
Stockwell Day will cut programs and tinker with the future
of Canadians and in the end the government will be forced
to spend even more in order not to have something worse than a recession
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The right guy for the right job
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What stimulus? You mean the unspent promises or the 57 billion bank bail out?
Please continue discussion on the forum: link