Prime Minister Stephen Harper shuffled the retired police officer into his fifth Cabinet post in four years because he owes him a large political debt from the 2011 election and can’t afford to lose his electoral weight in the Toronto region, critics say. Prime Minister Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) shuffled Mr. Fantino (Vaughan, Ont.) out of the Veterans Affairs portfolio he’s held since July 2013 and appointed him as the associate minister of National Defence. Mr. Harper appointed Erin O’Toole (Durham, Ont.) as the new Veterans Affairs minister in a closed ceremony at Rideau Hall on Jan. 5. Liberal and NDP MPs agreed that despite Mr. Fantino’s fiascos with the Veterans Affairs portfolio, leading at one time to a snub and televised verbal confrontation with veterans advocates in his Ottawa office, Mr. Harper has kept him in Cabinet because of his importance for the southern Ontario election battles that are already taking shape.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 07:43:45 +0000
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