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Carney fills out team with 39 parliamentary secretaries

Carney fills out team with 39 parliamentary secretaries

Yahoo06-06-2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the team that will support him and his cabinet as his minority government tries to fulfil its mandate during tumultuous economic times.
The list of 39 parliamentary secretaries include a handful of Liberal MPs who once served in cabinet but were dropped after Carney's win on April 28.
Parliamentary secretaries are not cabinet ministers, but they assist ministers and secretaries of state. They're often tasked with supporting them in the House, during the legislative process and in making announcements.
The job comes with a $20,200 bump on top of their MP pay of $209,800.
"Canada's new parliamentary secretary team will deliver on the government's mandate for change, working collaboratively with all parties in Parliament to build the strongest economy in the G7, advance a new security and economic partnership with the United States and help Canadians get ahead," said Carney in a statement.
Here are the the new parliamentary secretaries:
Toronto MP Karim Bardeesy becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of industry.
Nova Scotia MP and onetime Liberal leader hopeful Jaime Battiste becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of Crown-Indigenous relations.
Former immigration minister and Montreal MP Rachel Bendayan becomes parliamentary secretary to the prime minister
Former agriculture minister and Nova Scotia MP Kody Blois also becomes parliamentary secretary to the prime minister.
P.E.I. MP Sean Casey becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of veterans affairs and associate minister of national defence.
Quebec MP Sophie Chatel becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of agriculture and agri-food.
Quebec MP Madeleine Chenette becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of Canadian identity and culture and minister responsible for official languages, and parliamentary secretary to the secretary of state for sport.
Toronto MP Maggie Chi becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of health.
Toronto MP Leslie Church becomes parliamentary secretary to the secretaries of state for labour, seniors, and for children and youth, plus parliamentary secretary to the minister of jobs and families (persons with disabilities).
Quebec MP Caroline Desrochers becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of housing and infrastructure.
Former procurement minister and Toronto MP Ali Ehsassi becomes parliamentary secretary to the president of the King's Privy Council for Canada and minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade.
Former Treasury Board president and Ottawa MP Mona Fortier becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs.
Ontario MP Peter Fragiskatos becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of immigration.
Toronto MP Vince Gasparro becomes parliamentary secretary to the secretary of state of combating crime.
Vancouver MP Wade Grant becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of environment and climate change.
Quebec MP Claude Guay becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of energy and natural resources.
Calgary MP Corey Hogan also becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of energy and natural resources.
Yukon MP Brendan Hanley becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of northern and Arctic affairs.
Montreal MP Anthony Housefather becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of emergency management and community resilience.
Nova Scotia MP Mike Kelloway becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of transport and internal trade.
British Columbia MP Ernie Klassen becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of fisheries.
Quebec MP Annie Koutrakis becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of jobs and families.
Manitoba MP Kevin Lamoureux becomes parliamentary secretary to the leader of the government in the House of Commons.
Quebec MP Patricia Lattanzio becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of justice and attorney general of Canada.
Manitoba MP Ginette Lavack becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of Indigenous services.
Quebec MP and former provincial cabinet minister Carlos Leitão becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of industry.
Ontario MP Tim Louis becomes parliamentary secretary to the president of the King's Privy Council for Canada and minister responsible for intergovernmental affairs and "One Canadian Economy."
Ontario MP Jennifer McKelvie becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of housing and infrastructure.
Montreal MP Marie-Gabrielle Ménard becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of women and gender equality and secretary of state for small business and tourism
New Brunswick MP David Myles becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of Canadian identity and culture and minister responsible for official languages, and parliamentary secretary to the secretary of state for nature.
Ottawa MP Yasir Naqvi becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of international trade and parliamentary secretary to the secretary of state for international development.
Vancouver MP Taleeb Noormohamed becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of artificial intelligence and digital innovation.
Toronto MP Rob Oliphant becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs.
Newfoundland and Labrador MP Tom Osborne becomes parliamentary secretary to the president of the Treasury Board.
Quebec MP Jacques Ramsay becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of public safety.
Ontario MP Pauline Rochefort becomes parliamentary secretary to the secretary of state for rural development.
Quebec MP Sherry Romanado becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of national defence.
Former families, children and social development minister and Ottawa MP Jenna Sudds becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of procurement and parliamentary secretary to the secretary of state for defence procurement.
Ontario MP Ryan Turnbull becomes parliamentary secretary to the minister of finance and national revenue and parliamentary secretary to the secretary of state for the Canada Revenue Agency and financial institutions.
Carney also announced that Quebec MP Élisabeth Brière will serve as deputy chief government whip and Ontario MP Arielle Kayabaga, who briefly served as the government House leader during the election period, will serve as deputy leader of the government in the House of Commons.
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Birks Group Inc. Reports Fiscal 2025 Results
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Canada to attend UN conference on Palestinian statehood
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OTTAWA—The Canadian government has no immediate plans to join France in pledging to recognize a Palestinian state, but says it remains committed to a two-state solution as international outrage mounts over the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will travel to New York on Monday for a United Nations conference on achieving a Palestinian state, which comes after French President Emmanuel Macron declared Thursday that his country would recognize Palestine in September, making France the first G7 nation to set out a clear timeline. A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, told the Star the Carney government is not expecting to make a commitment to recognize a state of Palestine during the conference. Ottawa's position, they said, remains that Canada would recognize a Palestinian state led by the Palestinian Authority when it would be most conducive to a 'lasting peace.' They did not rule out the possibility of joining France by September's UN general assembly. Asked about Canada's position on Thursday, Anand suggested the Carney government's priority was on immediately ending the war in Gaza, where civilians face mass starvation due to Israeli blockades, and negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages remain at a standstill. 'I believe that the importance for Canadians is to ensure that humanitarian aid flows, to ensure that the hostages are released and to ensure that Hamas lays down its weapons so that Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, side by side. That's Canada's position,' Anand told reporters in Inuvik, N.W.T. 'In terms of comparable positions or the positions of my counterparts, that's a conversation that I will have in person when I travel to New York and meet with them next week.' In a statement on Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney accused Israel of violating international law for failing to allow aid into the Gaza Strip, as he called on its government to give control of the distribution of humanitarian aid to the United Nations. Carney also said Canada will 'work intensively' toward the advancement of a two-state solution 'which guarantees peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians.' Macron's announcement was condemned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the move 'rewards terror.' U.S. President Donald Trump also dismissed France's declaration, telling reporters Friday that it 'doesn't carry weight.' In a statement, Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa'ar said he told Anand on Friday that France's move 'will only push Israel to take steps of its own,' and that it 'harms the chances of achieving a hostage deal and ceasefire.' Anand said on social media that she had also spoken with the Palestinian Authority's foreign minister on Friday. France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting next week's meeting of diplomats, where they are expected to urge Western states to join them in recognizing a Palestinian state. A majority of UN member states already do so, but no other G7 country has so far said it would follow France's lead. The United States is boycotting the conference, and the Trump administration has warned its allies not to attend.

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