• CTF reacts to major restructuring of federal Ministry
  
• Prime Minister's dumping of Fry, Minna and Gagliano - long overdue
  
• CTF demands Prime Minister make Cabinet conflict rules public
  
• New Ministers McLellan, Boudria and Rock in CTF sights
  
• Ministry balloons to 39 members, up from 27 in 1993

OTTAWA: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has responded to today's restructuring of the federal Ministry of the Government of Canada.

Dumping of Fry, Minna and Gagliano: It's about time
"It is clear that Brian Tobin's departure and the cloud of scandal which perpetually hung over Alfonso Gagliano ensured that today's Cabinet shuffle was a major undertaking," noted CTF federal director Walter Robinson. "However, it took the Prime Minister several months to remove former Ministers Hedy Fry, Maria Minna and Mr. Gagliano from the cabinet table. Today's departures were more a function of circumstance than ethical conviction."

Integrity in government: Still lacking
"The challenge here is that we have a Prime Minister who swept to power nine years ago promising integrity in government, but this has not happened," added Robinson. "The ethical standards bar of this government is so low that even the best acrobats from Cirque du Soleil couldn't even limbo under it. And we still do not have a public record of the conflict rules that are applicable to Ministers of the Crown. The Prime Minister should finally make these public."

New ministers: Same old taxpayer concerns
Key appointments in the new Ministry included the Hon. Anne McLellan, as Minister of Health, the Hon. Don Boudria as Minister of Public Works and Government Services, and the Hon. Allan Rock assumed Brian Tobin's old post as Minister of Industry.

"We will be actively seeking a meeting with Minister McClellan to discuss our acclaimed health care research and position paper, The Patient, The Condition, The Treatment, as 2002 is the medicare year," noted Robinson. "As for Ministers Boudria and Rock, they both inherit portfolios where government largesse is distributed and partisan politics is definitely practiced. We will keep an eye on Mr. Boudria to ensure that he observes fair contracting rules and press him to respond to successive Auditors General and their concerns about the sole-sourcing of contracts and value for taxpayer dollars."

As for Mr. Rock, Industry Canada continues its offensive corporate welfare practices at the departmental and agency levels, so he can rest assured, he will be hearing from us," concluded Robinson.