Now that the shock of the Liberal landslide on Oct. 25 is beginning to fade, speculation about who gets what in Cabinet is intensifying.
Of particular interest to the media industry and direct mailers is the appointment of a federal Communications Minister.
Emerging
And already, scant days after the Liberals notched an astonishing victory that reduced the ndp to also-rans and the Tories to a two-mp blip, some names are beginning to emerge.
One name mentioned is Halifax mp Mary Clancy, a Nova Scotia native.
Reached at her Halifax constituency office the day after the election, Clancy refused to speculate on the likelihood of her getting the Communications job – or any other Cabinet post.
Clancy said the only sure thing is Jean Chretien will be prime minister, but, beyond that, everyone will have to wait to find out who goes where.
She says she will do anything Chretien wants her to.
Clancy, who was associate Communications critic while in the Opposition, says another person being touted for the Communications portfolio, Mount Royal mp Sheila Finestone, would be an excellent choice.
Clancy says, ‘I can’t think of anybody who would be better qualified [for the job.]’
Finestone could not be reached for comment by press-time.
However, Finestone, the Liberal Communications critic while in the Opposition, has let it be known around Ottawa she would like to be Communications Minister.
The outgoing Tory Communications Minister is little-known Monique Landry, the former mp for Blainville-Deux Montagnes in Quebec.
Landry
Landry took over the Communications portfolio in June from Perrin Beatty, the Tory mp for Wellington-Grey-Dufferin-Simcoe in Ontario who was defeated in the federal election.
One other name being bandied about for Communications is that of Marcel Masse, re-elected in Hull-Aylmer, Que., but who is not much known outside his home province and who should not be confused with Marcel Masse, the former minister in Brian Mulroney’s cabinet. DC
