Cabinet shuffle seems more cosmetic than anything else
Editorial

York - Simcoe MP Peter Van Loan was quite right last week when he pointed out that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made few changes to his cabinet since being called upon to form the government early in 2006.

There have been a few minor adjustments, such as in November, when Michael Chong resigned, requiring Harper to find a new Intergovernmental Affairs and Sports Minister in a hurry (Van Loan should remember that, since he's the one who got the nod). Just a couple weeks later, Harper did a bit of rearranging, the result seeing Van Loan move to his current position of Government House Leader and Minister for Democratic Reform.

So after more than a year and a half, we can agree that a significant adjustment to the government's front benches might have been in order.

But the reality is not a lot has changed.

The main feature was Gordon O'Connor being dropped from the Defence portfolio, to be replaced by Peter MacKay. With Canadian forces on the ground in a military operation in Afghanistan, and the casualty count continuing to rise, perhaps that file required a person of a different profile. Certainly, Van Loan thinks so.

But we still have to wonder if the other changes announced really amount to a whole lot. O'Connor has been moved to the post of Minister of Revenue. We'd be willing to bet few are the people out there who can name the person he replaced in that office (the answer is Carol Skelton).

There was also talk that Jim Flaherty might be moved out of the high-profile Finance portfolio. That's another position that might be suited to a different type of person, but it we have to agree it would have been hard for Harper to replace him, no matter what people may think about the way the economy is being run. There are a lot of seniors out there upset at the taxing of income trusts, and a rapidly aging senior population represents a block of votes that no politician can afford to ignore. But for Harper to have replaced Flaherty might have been seen as an admission of error, or that the government might be taking the wrong economic path.

We suspect Harper is not a man who would be willing to publicly admit he goofed, and we also sympathize that such acknowledgement is not likely to be heard from the head of a minority government.

If last week's cabinet shuffle indicates anything, we think it's that Harper wants to stay on the path he has selected.

And since he is the Prime Minister, it is his call to make.