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Harper forms his new cabinet

No real surprise here, any new government is constrained by regional representation.  For Quebec, which sent five conservatives to the Ottawa parliament, four made the cut to minister, which is high.  But then Quebec is about 1/5 of Canada’s total population.  The entire cabinet (28) dictates (unfortunately) this level of representation.  Some look really smart, others have been given position where they can do little harm.

It is too early to say how this cabinet will perform; the big jobs remain in the hands of Haprer’s trusted lieutenants, so continuity should be the name of the game here.  The budget (which led to the May 2, election) will be presented to parliament for its approval, and with a 12 seat majority should pass easily.  The conservative nature of this budget (with target to reduce the Federal government deficit by 2015/16) will probably be well received by most Canadians and is especially relevant given Canada’s economic strength.  The Federal government should be looking at diminishing its presence in the economy, as the private sector expands.

Harper is a smart operator, facing a new (and very inexperienced) opposition formed by the NDP – now a “Quebec” party with 60 of its 103 members elected in the province.

One action that left many Canadians surprised was the reappointment of all three “ex-senators” which had resigned to run for parliament.  This has created some comments in the press – since the idea that a resignation from the Senate is a permanent affaire, and not a 30 day holiday, it also jeopardizes the concept of separation of the two chambers.  Finally, to my personal disgust, Ms Bev Oda was retained, she which lied to parliament, and was caught, a first in Canadian parliamentary history, which may be a sign that Harper’s belief in Canada’s democratic institutions is skin deep, and will be ignored when it is convenient.

On the economic front, not much news fit to print over the past few days, aside from Canada's TIC report, wholesale sales numbers were out this morning, not much excitement there in terms of trend or direction...

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