Devolin Column

(June 30, 2005)

DEVOLIN NAMED AS HUMAN RESOURCES CRITIC

Last week I was pleased to be added to the Conservative Party of Canada Shadow Cabinet as the Official Opposition Critic for the Associate Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development (HRSDC), the Hon. Claudette Bradshaw.

I am honoured that my leader Stephen Harper has shown his confidence in my ability to make a larger contribution to our party, and I will work hard to prove that that trust is justified.

In terms of what this means for my constituents, this new position will give me the ability to exercise more influence over what kinds of public policy or program options our party will support.

More specifically, this new job gives me the opportunity to advocate for things that are needed and practical in Ontario – especially in rural ridings like Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock.

Fortunately, after having sat on the House of Commons Standing Committee for Human Resources, Skills Development, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities for the past year, I am already up-to-speed on many of the issues for which I will now be responsible.

For example, I will now be the Conservative Party’s lead on the Youth Employment Strategy file – a program that helps many community organizations to get help and young people to get jobs in this riding.

Most people don’t realize this but, in terms of dollars managed, the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development is actually the largest department in the federal government, with major programs such as Employment Insurance and Canada Pension Plan as part of the HRSD mandate.

In the past week, many people have asked me to explain what exactly a “shadow cabinet” is, and what an opposition critic is expected to do.

In the Westminster parliamentary system, the “shadow cabinet” in each opposition party is a senior group of MP’s who collectively form an alternative cabinet to the government.

The primary purpose is to offer voters another option beyond the current government. And it’s for this reason that the Official Opposition’s shadow cabinet is sometimes referred to as a “government in waiting”.

As a group, the shadow cabinet establishes the strategic direction for their party, and they decide on a week-to-week basis what their party’s caucus will do in Parliament.

In addition to these collective responsibilities, shadow cabinet members are assigned a specific minister to “shadow”. When an issue arises, this shadow cabinet member is the point-person for the opposition, critiquing the Minister’s decisions and telling Canadians what would have happened if the Opposition were in government.

One of the major benefits of this shadow cabinet system is that voters get more accountable government because everything ministers do is critiqued by a knowledgeable opposition member.

As your Member of Parliament, my primary responsibilities are serving you in the riding and representing you in the House of Commons. This won’t change, but I believe that my new responsibility will allow me a greater opportunity to ensure that the interests of our riding are well represented within my party.