Familiar faces get new roles in cabinet

Smith shuffles team to keep rivals close

EDMONTON Alberta Premier Danielle Smith introduced her new cabinet Friday, shuffling familiar faces, keeping former leadership rivals close and welcoming back two exiled political veterans.

Smith also confirmed all new government members will be given extra instruction on how government works in accordance with a report from the ethics commissioner last month that concluded Smith risked undermining the rule of law by trying to make charges in a specific criminal court case “go away.”

“I’m proud to present Albertans with a cabinet of talented, diverse and experienced leaders in business, their communities and political life who will share with me the responsibility to fulfil this mandate,” Smith told reporters after the swearing-in ceremony at Government House.

Smith declined to let the new ministers take questions from the media, saying she wants to give them a chance to be briefed on their new responsibilities.

The cabinet has 25 members, down from 27 in Smith’s first cabinet last fall, with 20 men and five women.

Nate Horner has been tapped to lead Finance, Mickey Amery takes over in Justice and Adriana LaGrange moves to Health from her old job in Education.

Brian Jean, Rajan Sawhney, Todd Loewen and Rebecca Schulz — all contenders in last fall’s United Conservative Party leadership — return to Smith’s cabinet table.

Jean will head up Energy and Minerals, Sawhney takes over Advanced Education and Schulz is to lead Environment and Protected Areas.

Loewen returns in the newly renamed Forestry and Parks job.

Smith lost a lot of cabinet experience when veteran ministers retired or were defeated in last month’s election. Two returning stalwarts, Jason Nixon and Ric McIver, were dropped from Smith’s original cabinet Oct. 24, but are back at the table.

Nixon is in charge of Seniors, Community and Social Services. He was the top lieutenant to former premier Jason Kenney, serving as government house leader and Environment minister. After Kenney quit and Smith took over, Nixon was still viewed in caucus as part of the discredited Kenney administration and was moved to the backbenches.

McIver, with a decade of experience in the legislature under multiple portfolios, is back in his old job of Municipal Affairs.

Amery had no cabinet experience until Smith appointed him Children’s Services minister late last year.

One of three lawyers in Smith’s 48-member caucus, Amery inherits a controversial portfolio. He is the fifth person to hold the job in the last four years under the UCP.

One former UCP justice minister, Kaycee Madu, was found to have tried to interfere in the administration of justice by calling up Edmonton’s police chief to complain about a traffic ticket.

Opposition NDP Deputy Leader Sarah Hoffman said many of the same ministers who failed Albertans in old portfolios will now have the opportunity to fail them in new ones.

“The exact same characters are continuing to call the shots,” said Hoffman.

“Danielle Smith has decided the best move for the minister (LaGrange) who completely neglected our K to 12 schools for four years — leaving them 2,000 teachers short of where they should be and implementing a horrific curriculum — is to move her to health.”