Ministers Tassi and Jaczek swap roles in Trudeau cabinet shuffle

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reassigned ministers Filomena Tassi and Helena Jaczek in a small internal cabinet shuffle at Rideau Hall on Wednesday.

In a simple swap of portfolios, Jaczek has been named Canada's new public services and procurement minister, while Tassi is taking on the lower-profile role as the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

The slight reworking of the Liberals' front bench was made to accommodate a request from Tassi to spend more time in Southern Ontario for family reasons, and on Wednesday the prime minister indicated it was not his desire to make any more changes than necessary to his cabinet right now.

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"It's been less than a year since the last election, and our government is working extremely hard every day to support Canadians and to deliver the support necessary... And that's the hard work we're going to continue to," Trudeau said, flanked by the two ministers following the brief swearing-in ceremony presided over by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon.

In a statement, Tassi said that, early last year, her husband suffered two strokes.

"As anyone whose family has had a similar experience will know, post-stroke care can be complex and filled with uncertainty." As a result, Tassi said that she approached the prime minister last month to "discuss balancing the needs of my family with the travel demands," she faced as a minister with cross-Canada responsibilities.

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She said she's looking forward to focusing on creating jobs in her home region, and thanked Trudeau for "approaching my situation as a challenge to be addressed and solved, rather than as a choice to be made between family or public service."

Tassi had been overseeing Canada's procurement of vaccines as well as new fighter jets. Representing a Hamilton, Ont. riding since 2015, Tassi has previously been Canada's labour minister, seniors minister, and the Liberals' deputy whip.

"In her new role, Minister Tassi will ensure the continued strength of FedDev Ontario, in turn, creating good middle-class jobs, driving clean economic growth in the region, and supporting small and medium-sized businesses for the benefit of everyone in Southern Ontario," said the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in a statement.

Jaczek was elected federally in 2019 and joined cabinet in 2021. Representing Markham-Stoufville, Ont., she was previously the Ontario MPP for Oak Ridges-Markham and during that time was Ontario’s minister of health and long-term care as well as the province’s minister of community and social services.

"In her new role, she will leverage the government’s purchasing power to increase access to economic opportunity for more Canadians while ensuring federal procurement supports Canada’s transition to a clean economy. She will also ensure Canada continues to have all the critical supplies needed to respond to current and future pandemics, bringing experience acquired in the health sector," said the PMO release.

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Wednesday's cabinet shuffle is the first time the prime minister has made changes to his ministerial roster since he considerably shook up who was responsible for some key portfolios following the 2021 election.

There are currently 38 members in the gender-balanced cabinet, not counting the prime minister. With the swapping of these two minister's roles, Trudeau upholds his commitment to gender parity and the regional representation within cabinet has not been impacted.

The cabinet adjustment comes just prior to the federal cabinet retreat next week in Vancouver, where Trudeau and his ministers will gather to discuss priorities and plot out their agenda for the fall. Parliament is scheduled to reconvene the week of Sept. 19.

While some members of the opposition had indicated a desire to see Wednesday's shuffle be more substantial to address some of the issues seizing the government and Canadians this summer—from inflation to the chaos at airports and passport offices—Trudeau indicated his confidence in the ministers he has in the portfolios with hot files.

"We know that Canadians are facing real challenges, with increases in the cost of living, with prices at the pump, prices for groceries, challenges around housing, and we have as a government been there to support Canadians in a range of ways," Trudeau said. "But we know there's more to do and we're going to keep doing that."