Duncan, Merriman among ministers changing portfolios in cabinet shuffle

Premier Scott Moe gave his cabinet table a good shuffle Tuesday morning, with several new titles and couple of new appointments.

But before those announcements, the premier gave a farewell of sorts to Don Morgan. The veteran MLA announced last week that he won’t be seeking re-election in the expected 2024 general election, though he’ll serve the rest of his term.

Morgan was first elected in 2003.

“With that election result, Don Morgan strolled into the Legislative Assembly and I would say the halls of that very building have never been the same since, and they may never well be again,” Moe said Tuesday, eliciting some laughs from the small crowd at Government House.

Moe talked about Morgan’s many years of service, and his compassion, generosity and respectfulness.

“Despite all of Don’s shenanigans, of which everyone has fell victim to at one point or another, the Saskatchewan Party, our cabinet, our caucus, the Legislative Assembly, the Government of Saskatchewan and the Province of Saskatchewan are so much better when Don Morgan is involved,” the premier said.

Morgan is no longer a minister but will serve as provincial secretary.

Moe called the overall cabinet shuffle a significant shift, saying that with an impending election, there’s always change and renewal as people make decisions about running.

“With some of those decisions comes the need for some rearrangement with respect to how everyone serves within the Government of Saskatchewan and that includes the cabinet,” said the premier.

The moves

Everett Hindley moves to health from mental health and addictions, seniors and rural and remote health. The previous health minister, Paul Merriman, shifts to corrections, policing and public safety and minister responsible for the Firearms Secretariat.

Dustin Duncan moves from education to Crown Investments Corporation and minister responsible for all the major Crowns, including SaskPower, SaskEnergy, SaskTel, SGI and SaskWater, as well as minister responsible for the Public Service Commission.

A week ago, Duncan — who moves into Morgan’s portfolios — unveiled new policies for sex education and gender and pronoun changes.

Jeremy Cockrill, the former highways minister, takes over education from Duncan. Lori Carr moves to highways from SaskBuilds and procurement and minister responsible for the Public Service Commission.

Christine Tell moves from corrections, policing and public safety to environment. There, she replaces Dana Skoropad, who also announced he wouldn’t be seeking re-election in 2024.

Moose Jaw North MLA Tim McLeod enters cabinet to replace Hindley as minister of mental health and addictions, seniors and rural and remote health.  Prince Albert Carlton MLA Joe Hargrave becomes minister of SaskBuilds and procurement.

Nine ministers retain their current responsibilities:

• Donna Harpauer — Deputy Premier and minister of finance;
• Jim Reiter — minister of energy and resources;
• Gordon Wyant — minister of advanced education;
• Jeremy Harrison — minister of trade and export development, minister of immigration and career training, and minister responsible for Innovation and Tourism Saskatchewan;
• David Marit — minister of agriculture and minister responsible for Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation; also becomes minister responsible for the Water Security Agency;
• Don McMorris — minister of government relations, minister responsible for First Nations, Metis and Northern Affairs and minister responsible for the Provincial Capital Commission; also becomes minister of labour relations and workplace safety, and minister responsible for Workers’ Compensation Board;
• Bronwyn Eyre — minister of justice and attorney general;
• Gene Makowsky — minister of social services; and
• Laura Ross — minister of parks, culture and sport and minister responsible for the status of women and the Lotteries and Gaming Corporation.

“The mandate of our new cabinet is to build and protect Saskatchewan — to continue building a strong economy, strong communities and strong families, and to protect all that we have built together from threats like federal intrusion and economic challenges like inflation,” Moe said in a media release.

The overall size of cabinet remains unchanged at 18, including the premier.

The Saskatchewan NDP said the cabinet changes don’t do anything to help with the problems people in the province are facing, like the cost of living, people waiting for surgeries or supports in classrooms.

“There was no change to the finance portfolio, which shows that this tired and out-of-touch government is completely fine with the status quo,” said Opposition House Leader Nicole Sarauer.

She said moving Tell to the environment portfolio was interesting to the NDP because years ago when Tell was the public safety minister, Sarauer said Tell couldn’t answer whether she thought climate change was affecting the number of wildfires that year.

Sarauer is also concerned about how well Hindley will perform as health minister, given that he had been mental health and addictions minister and she said the crisis in that sector hasn’t improved.

She said that Merriman’s move also is an interesting choice, given the worries about the independence of the upcoming marshals service and what she said was Merriman’s willingness to interfere politically with decisions under health.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick