New Federal Finance Minister Freeland Promises A Greener Economy
OTTAWA – Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has been officially sworn in as the new federal Finance Minister, replacing the outgoing Bill Morneau. Freeland becomes the first woman to ever hold the role at the federal level. New Brunswick MP Dominic LeBlanc takes over as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.
During her address to the media on Tuesday, Freeland said Canada must focus on a greener economy as the Country recovers from Covid-19. It has been reported that Morneau and Trudeau clashed over the notion of a green economy before Morneau’s resignation.
“I think Canadians understand that the restart of our economy needs to be green,” said Freeland. “It also needs to be equitable; it needs to be inclusive. And we need to focus very much on jobs and growth.”
The change in Finance Ministers comes at a time when both Trudeau and Morneau are being investigated by the ethics commissioner over the WE Charity scandal. The federal government gave a contract to WE Charity to manage a $912-million student volunteer grant program. It later came to light that both men and their families had close personal ties to the organization.
When asked by a journalist on Tuesday about the reason for Morneau’s departure, Trudeau dodged the question.
“It’s been a privilege and a pleasure to work alongside Bill Morneau these past five years as we’ve done incredibly big things for Canadians…” said Trudeau.
“We’ve been there to step up for Canadians and Bill was extremely important in response to the (Covid-19) situation. But now as we work towards a recovery that will stretch through and beyond the next election, we need a team that will focus on the steps we are taking for now and for the coming years…”
Trudeau also sidestepped when questioned whether he wanted Morneau to stay on as Finance Minister after he was informed of Morneau’s intent to resign.
The Prime Minister today also announced his intent to prorogue Parliament until September 23, at which time his government will give an updated throne speech.
Trudeau justified this decision by noting how much the world has changed since the last throne speech eight months ago. The throne speech will also give the opposition parties the chance to cast a confidence vote in favour or against the Liberals, which could trigger an election.