Premier Rachel Notley says she will ponder the size of her cabinet and its makeup and over the Christmas break.
In a year end interview, the premier said she hasn’t ruled out a cabinet shuffle in the new year, an issue that has been frequently raised as a possibility by political observers over the last few weeks.
“That’s a matter that you always keep an eye on,” Notley said. “It has been neither ruled out nor planned.”
Notley said she’s “extremely proud ” of the work being done by her cabinet ministers.
But there have been opposition calls for the resignation of Human Services Minister Irfan Sabir, ever since revelations emerged about mishandling in the case of a child known as Serenity who died while in kinship care.
Opposition parties blamed Sabir for having a loose grasp on his department, and for lengthy delays in handling the case of the four-year-old-girl, who died while in care two years ago. Reports indicate she was emaciated, suffered from a brain injury and showed signs of injury consistent with sexual assault at the time of her death in hospital.
Premier Rachel Notley looks on as Richard Feehan (far left) Christina Gray, Stephanie McLean, Richardo Miranda, Marlin Schmidt and Brandy Payne were sworn in to the Alberta cabinet in February, 2016 ( (Jason Franson/Canadian Press ))
Notley has steadfastly defended Sabir, insisting he has done the best he can in a difficult portfolio.
“If you simply cycle through and fire someone for the inevitable problems that are going to happen in a ministry that has dealt with a series of problems that have been around for many many years, that we have not yet managed to grapple with successfully, then you’re not going to fix the problem,” she said.
While not saying for certain if a cabinet shuffle is on the horizon, Notley said her review of cabinet will include looking at the size and scope of the Human Services department.
Taking stock
“We’re just going to take stock, we’re going to spend some time after the Christmas holidays and take a look back on what has worked and what we can improve on, and we’ll go from there,” she said.
The Human Services department is responsible for a broad array of services, including supports for homeless, family and community education programs, and the child and youth services division.
If Notley does adjust her cabinet, it will be the first big change in almost a year. Last February, Notley added six new faces, bringing her smaller-than-normal cabinet to 19 members.