A promotion at the federal Tories’ cabinet table has led to the appointment of a new parliamentary secretary on the agriculture file.
Gerald Keddy, MP for the Nova Scotia riding of South Shore-St. Margaret’s since 1997, was named Friday to replace Ontario MP Pierre Lemieux as parliamentary secretary for Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.
Lemieux, the MP for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell since 2006, was shuffled Friday to become parliamentary secretary to the minister for veterans’ affairs.
Keddy — whose resume includes stints as a farmer and former president of the Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia — will also keep his other roles as parliamentary secretary to the minister of national revenue and for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. He was appointed to those roles in September 2013.
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Notable changes in exports to China, India
China and India figured prominently in the September export data issued by the Canadian Grain Commission on Nov. 7. For the most part, the CGC’s numbers highlighted issues with grain, oilseed and pulse exports from licensed facilities to those countries.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the secretrial shuffle Friday in the wake of his appointment of Ontario MP Erin O’Toole as minister for veterans’ affairs, replacing Julian Fantino.
Before his appointment on Jan. 5, O’Toole, the MP for the Durham riding, was parliamentary secretary to the minister of international trade.
Another Ontario MP, Parm Gill, until now the parliamentary secretary for veterans’ affairs, was named Friday to replace O’Toole as secretary to the trade minister, Ef Fast.
Parliamentary secretaries are members of Parliament assigned to to assist cabinet ministers with parliamentary duties, including routine matters in the House of Commons, committee work and some “extra-parliamentary” responsibilities for the minister’s portfolio. — AGCanada.com Network
