Premier Doug Ford announces cabinet shuffle hours after 3rd minister resigns in a month
CTV
Premier Doug Ford is shuffling his cabinet for the second time in recent weeks after Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton announced Friday he is stepping away from politics to move into the private sector.
Premier Doug Ford is shuffling his cabinet for the second time in recent weeks after Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton announced Friday he is stepping away from politics to move into the private sector.
In a release hours after McNaughton announced his departure, Ford said David Piccini will move from his role as environment minister to fill the labour minister title.
MPP Andrea Khanjin will become the new environment minister, and will hold onto additional responsibilities as the deputy government house leader. Meanwhile, MPP Todd McCarthy will take over former Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery Kaleed Rasheed’s role, and Vijay Thangigasalam will become the associate minister of transportation.
McNaughton is the third minister to resign from Premier Doug Ford's cabinet this month, though he said his departure is not connected to the unfolding Greenbelt development scandal.
“I realize that recent events will cause some to speculate about the reasons for my departure. I want those people to know that my decision is completely unrelated to those events,” he said in a statement.
In his own statement, Ford thanked McNaughton for his service and lauded his accomplishments on the labour file.
“I’m very grateful for Monte’s work as a key member of our team, both as minister of infrastructure and, more recently, minister of labour, immigration, training, and skills development,” Ford said.
