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Navdeep Bains stays on as Innovation Minister, more revealed in Trudeau’s new cabinet

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has selected his cabinet ministers, which include some familiar faces along with new ones.

The Liberal Party currently holds a minority government, meaning that the new government will have to work alongside other party members efficiently when making new legislation.

Navdeep Bains

Unsurprisingly, Navdeep Bains remains in the same portfolio he held in the previous government. Unlike the last term though, his title is now Innovation, Science and Industry.

Bains was one of the few cabinet ministers in the last government who was not shuffled out of his role.

In the previous government, Bains created a policy directive that required the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to consider affordability and fairness for Canadians when making decisions.

He also has been involved in the decision regarding whether Huawei should be banned from participating in 5G network development in Canada. Bains more recently introduced the Digital Charter, a 10 point principled plan that would guide policymakers on future legislation of digital platforms. The Digital Charter does not have any concrete forms of regulation.

Bill Blair

The new Public Safety Minister will be Bill Blair. In the last government, Blair was the Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, and before that, he was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and to the Minister of Health. Blair is also the former chief of police in Toronto.

He takes on the new file from Ralph Goodale, who was not re-elected in the most recent election. Goodale was heavily involved in the decision regarding Huawei and had announced that a decision regarding the company will come after the federal election.

David Lametti

David Lametti was appointed as Justice Minister once again. In his role, he could eventually have the final say concerning the extradition case of Huawei’s global chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou. Before taking on the role in the previous government, he was the Parliamentary Secretary to Bains and was heavily involved in technology policy creation.

Maryam Monsef

Maryam Monsef has been appointed as the new Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development.

The latter part of her title, Rural Economic Development, was previously its own ministry that was led by Bernadette Jordan. Jordan is now the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.

Monsef held several roles in the previous government. The rookie Member of Parliament at the time was first sworn in as Minister of Democratic Institutions. She was then Minister of Status of Women, then Minister of Women and Gender Equality, and finally ended the previous government as Minister of International Development.

It is not entirely clear if the Rural Economic Development file will be comprised of the same issues as before, but if this is the case then Monsef will be in charge of broadband services in Canada.

In the file, Jordan announced the ‘Connectivity Strategy,’ which detailed how the Liberal government would connect 100 percent of Canadians to high-speed internet by 2030.

Steven Guilbeault

The brand new Quebec MP will be the new Minister of Canadian Heritage, taking on the role from Pablo Rodriguez. Rodriguez will now be the Government House Leader.

Guilbeault will be in charge of several issues related to Canadian content and streaming services.

Joyce Murray

Joyce Murray has been appointed a new role called the Minister of Digital Government. At this moment it is unclear what exactly her role will be in charge of, but once mandate letters are released we will be able to detail this with more information.

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