PM Carney's smaller cabinet is facing pushback from advocacy groups
Carney downsized cabinet to focus on trade war and economy
Canada's new prime minister is facing growing criticism from advocacy groups upset that ministers solely dedicated to their issues are no longer around the cabinet table.
Mark Carney announced his slate of 23 ministers on Friday, which he described as a much smaller cabinet focused on protecting workers during a trade war and building the economy during a moment of crisis.
Rabia Khedr, the national director of Disability Without Poverty, says she believes Carney put his election strategy first by dropping a series of titles from his cabinet.
"I think it's a political strategy. It's a strategic decision to get rid of anything that has to do with equity, diversity and inclusion in the forefront," said Khedr.
After being sworn in, Carney said his cabinet is leaner because it's "focused on the issues that are most important to Canadians, meeting the moment — the moment is a moment of crisis."
Missing from his ministers are the titles women, gender equality, youth, official languages, diversity, inclusion, persons with disabilities and seniors — all included in Trudeau's cabinet.
Those portfolios aren't gone, but have been consolidated under other ministers' responsibilities.
Carney gave Steven Guilbeault an expanded cabinet role called "Canadian culture and identity, Parks Canada and Quebec lieutenant." The Prime Minister's Office says his portfolio includes women and gender equality along with official languages.
Minister of Jobs and Families Steven MacKinnon's portfolio includes seniors and persons with disabilities, Carney's office said.
MacKinnon defended the consolidated cabinet roles on Friday, saying his government has spent nine years fighting for gender equity and won't waver on that front. He pointed to recent updates to employment insurance that he said make life easier for Canadian women.
"And for my part, whether it's seniors or handicapped people or and perhaps especially labour in this country, I take all of the constituent groups who rely on the services of my department extremely seriously," MacKinnon said at a news conference.
Messaging of smaller ministry
Khedr said MacKinnon should start in his role by knowing the government's language under the Accessible Canada Act is "persons with disabilities, people with disabilities or even disabled people."
She's among those calling for Carney to immediately reinstate the dedicated ministerial position over fears they're losing a champion around the cabinet table. More than 200 advocacy groups and organizations have joined forces to demand the new prime minister bring back a minister entirely focused on women and gender equality.
Anuradha Dugal, executive director of Women's Shelters Canada, says for more than 60 years there's been a status of women minister and folding the portfolio under another minister's responsibilities sets back decades of work.
"Including us in a ministry that is now called Canadian identity I think also undermines the responsibility to fulfil the full rights of women and gender diverse people at a time when they're under threat globally," Dugal told CBC News.
The Ontario Native Women's Association says this cabinet sends the message that Indigenous women and girls who face "unacceptable levels of violence" are not a priority.
Other advocacy groups worry if ministers are dealing with multiple portfolios, they'll have to triage priorities and their files will fall to the wayside.
"I think there could be a lack of co-ordination on certain issues and a lack of urgency to deal with seniors' issues," said Graham Webb, executive director of the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly.
Gonzalo Peralta, executive director of Languages Canada, says he understands Canada is facing an economic crisis and threats like never before, but wants the minister of official languages restored after the election. He said the role is key to Canadian unity.
"We need to know that the cornerstone of Canadian identity is still relevant," Peralta said. "Is this Canada or not? That's the fundamental question."
The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement to CBC News that while the ministers responsible for these files have changed, their work continues to "support Canadians of all ages, promote diversity and gender equality and protect our two official languages."
Look at the budgets to see priorities, says former adviser
Former Liberal national campaign director Michele Cadario says she doesn't want to diminish what advocacy groups are saying, but says when you're trying to restructure a government with a smaller cabinet, consolidating roles is a byproduct. Given the compressed timeframe Carney had to put a cabinet together with a goal of keeping it smaller, "he's done the best he could."
She said consolidating portfolios doesn't mean these issues have taken on less importance under Carney's government or that their funding has been cut in any way.
Cadario provided advice to former prime minister Paul Martin and former B.C. premier Christy Clark about forming their cabinets. She learned that no matter what, you're going to upset more people than you make happy when putting together a cabinet, she said.
"For me, the telltales are always in budgets and that's where folks should look if priorities have really changed," said Cadario, CEO of Vanguard Strategy. "It's not about the names sitting around the table necessarily or how many of them."
She said it could be "more powerful" to have a more senior minister speaking about an issue at a smaller cabinet table, than a minister focused on one portfolio. A more senior minister may be invited to other meetings and cabinet committees to talk about the file too, she said.
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