[RCO]

McGuinty shakes things up

By JONATHAN JENKINS and ANTONELLA ARTUSO, Queen's Park Bureau



Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty tours the Regents Park revitalization project in Toronto on Friday January 15, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Premier Dalton McGuinty is following through on his promise to shuffle the cabinet deck in the New Year with major changes, dropping three ministers and bringing in four backbenchers to replace them.

Out are Ted McMeekin, Aileen Carol and Donna Cansfield, in are Sophia Aggelonitis, Linda Jeffrey, Carol Mitchell and Eric Hoskins.

But the biggest changes McGuinty has made don't involve new faces - some cabinet veterans are swapping portfolios and few of those changes were anticipated.

Brad Duguid moves up to a senior cabinet position as Energy and Infrastructure Minister, with his old post as Aboriginal Affairs being added to Attorney General Chris Bentley's workload.

Governemnt sources have over the past week pegged the energy file as a focus of this shuffle, with loads of expectations on Duguid to push Ontario forward in renewable energy and the manufacturing and economic spinoffs associated with it.

The biggest shocker may well be Kathleen Wynne's demotion to the ministry of transportation from the more important education file.


Leona Dombrowsky moves from agriculture to education and newcomer Mitchell takes agriculture.

Jeffrey takes over Natural Resources from Cansfield and Aggelonitis gets McMeekin's old job at Consumer Services.

Hoskins is now minister of Citizenship and Immigration, with the former minister Michael Chan heading to Tourism and Culture.

The new ministers are being called by McGuinty this morning and will be sworn in at 4 p.m. by Lt-Gov. David Onley.

McGuinty has needed to fill the hole at energy and infrastructure left by George Smitherman since November, when the former deputy premier resigned cabinet and announced he wanted to be mayor of Toronto.

Another departure followed in January when Municipal Affairs Minister Jim Watson pulled the plug, saying he also wanted to return to his old job as mayor of Ottawa.

But it's Smitherman's old job the Liberal government needs to fill most desperately, as McGuinty wants the province to build on the Green Energy Act to promote Ontario as a centre for renewable energy and all the manufacturing and associated economic activity.

Cabinet veteran Gerry Phillips has been holding down the energy file since Smitherman left but he's not expected to continue in the role.

The new energy minister will also have to decide - and relatively soon - on how best to refurbish the province's aging nuclear fleet.

A decision on whether to build brand new reactors at Darlington was put on hold last year after the price from Atomic Energy Canada Limited came in too rich for government's blood.

But even if that project is never launched there are other reactor units operating now that must either be fixed up or closed down.

As well, as McGuinty noted just last week, the second half of the government's $34 billion infrastructure plan has yet to be spent.

WHO'S IN?

Sophia Aggelonitis - Consumer Services

Carol Mitchell - Agriculture and Rural Affairs Linda Jeffrey - Natural Resources Eric Hoskins - Citizenship and Immigration

WHO'S OUT?

Ted McMeekin

Donna Cansfield

Aileen Carroll

WHO'S SHUFFLED?

Leona Dombrowsky - Education

Brad Duguid - Energy and Public Infrastructure Chris Bentley - Aboriginal Affairs (stays Attorney General)

Kathleen Wynne - Transportation

Gerry Phillips - Minister Without Portfolio

Jim Bradley - Municipal Affairs and Housing

Michael Chan - Tourism and Culture

Monique Smith - House Leader and Intergovernmental Affairs

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Po.....1-qmi.html

[RCO]

Aileen Carroll out ? i find that a little shocking after she fought so hard to win the Barrie riding in the first place and she was a former mp . you have to wonder if she plans on sticking around at queens park much longer ?

as for the others not alot of surprises