The role of Canada’s first-ever “citizens affairs” cabinet minister unclear
By Noah Jarvis
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a major shuffle of his Cabinet, which saw a handful of ministers get the boot and others reassigned. One portfolio, however, had many Canadians scratching their heads as to what exactly its responsibilities were.
Trudeau named Terry Beech as Canada’s first Minister of Citizens Affairs, though not even Beech himself was sure what his responsibilities will be as a member of Cabinet.
After being sworn in, Beech told reporters that his ministry will be responsible for delivering social services across the country, but could not give any further details.
“This is really where the rubber hits the road in providing services to citizens right across the country,” said Beech.
“I met my deputy minister about five minutes ago. She handed me a piece of paper with a whole bunch of bullet points on it. But I’m less than an hour in so I’m gonna get fully briefed and to provide you much more fulsome answers from her on out.”