OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau demoted scandal-ridden former Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan while promoting Anita Anand by giving her Sajjan’s old portfolio, marking a big change for the defence ministry with a first Indo-Canadian woman in charge.
Trudeau’s new cabinet lineup makes significant changes to senior portfolios with nine new faces added, three dropped, some prominent shuffles and the creation of new portfolios ahead of Parliament’s return next month.
The new cabinet list adds up to 39 ministers, including Trudeau — slightly larger than the last roster.
In one of the biggest shakeups, Oakville MP Anand becomes only the second woman in Canadian history to take on the role of defence minister, after former prime minister Kim Campbell in the 1990s.
She inherits a tough job as the Canadian Armed Forces continues to battle a sexual misconduct crisis. Multiple high-ranking military officers have been moved out of their jobs while facing allegations, reported CBC News.
Anand said the fact she’s a woman was part of the “calculation.”
“But there are other areas of expertise I will also be imparting to my role, including my expertise in governance and my knowledge of law and process,” she told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
“I will say that my top priority is to make sure that everyone in the Armed Forces feels safe and protected and they have the supports that they need, when they need them, and the structures in place to ensure that justice is served.”
Addressing reporters earlier in the day, Trudeau said “there is a crisis within the culture in our Canadian Armed Forces.”
“And the women and men who serve in the Armed Forces deserve better support, deserve a shift in the kind of governance that they have,” he said.
“One of the things that people will be learning about Anita Anand in the coming months is that she is a world class expert in governance, with decades of professional experience that she will bring to bear to make sure that the Canadian Armed Forces, the leadership and the operations thereof, are worthy of the extraordinary women and men who choose to serve.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he expects Anand to usher in “immediate change in the culture of the Canadian Armed Forces” and to implement recommendations from the 2015 Deschamps review into sexual misconduct in the forces.
As questions about his handling of that crisis continue to swirl, Sajjan has been bumped to minister of international development and minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada.
