Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appointed three rookie B.C. MPs to his new cabinet, one of them a former Cape Mudge resident and We Wai Kai First Nation member.
Former Cape Mudge resident, band councillor and now Vancouver-Granville MP Jody Wilson-Raybould, is a first-time candidate elected to the new riding of Vancouver-Granville. She is now Trudeau’s Justice Minister. Wilson-Raybould is a former Crown prosecutor and served as B.C. regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations before running for national office.
Delta MP Carla Qualtrough is appointed minister for Sport and Persons with Disabilities. A lawyer and specialist in disabilities who is visually impaired, Qualtrough won three medals in swimming at the 1988 and 1992 Paralympic Games.
Vancouver South MP Harjit Sajjan, a former Lieutenant-Colonel in the Canadian Forces who served three tours in Afghanistan, is the new Minister of Defence. He was a Vancouver Police officer for 11 years before running for Parliament in the Oct. 19 election.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark congratulated the new B.C. MPs, part of a contingent of 17 elected with the Liberal majority in Ottawa.
"I am pleased to see British Columbia will be well represented at the cabinet table," Clark said in a statement Wednesday. "I know ministers Jody Wilson-Raybould, Harjit Sajjan and Carla Qualtrough will be strong, passionate advocates not just for our province, but for our shared priorities, like renewing the Softwood Lumber Agreement, LNG development, increasing support for international trade, investing in infrastructure and immigration, as well as fully including First Nations in our diverse economy."
– with files from Tom Fletcher, Black Press