OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promoted nine first-term backbenchers in appointing a new roster of parliamentary secretaries but there were no Indo-Canadian MPs included from his large contingent of Indo-Canadian MPs. In fact, he demoted one Indo-Canadian MP who had previously been named a parliamentary secretary.
MP Anju Dhillon was among seven Liberal MPs who had been parliamentary secretaries but were not included in the new list, including Leona Alleslav, Randy Boissonnault, Emmanuel Dubourg, Greg Fergus, John McKay and Michel Picard.
As previously announced, Andrew Leslie, who had been the chief government whip and who was widely tipped to be the Defence Minister before Trudeau gave that post to Harjit Sajjan, becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs, with special responsibility for relations with the United States.
The other newcomers, and their portfolios, include:
Sherry Romanado, veterans affairs.
Marc Miller, infrastructure and communities.
Jean R. Rioux, national defence.
Steven MacKinnon, public services and procurement.
Ginette Petitpas Taylor, finance.
Marco Mendicino, justice.
Joel Lightbound, health.
Andy Fillmore, democratic institutions.
Matt DeCourcey, foreign affairs.
Pablo Rodriguez, previously the parliamentary secretary to the minister of infrastructure, becomes the government’s chief whip.
Filomena Tassi becomes the deputy whip.
