Newly Elected Northern MLA Lands Cabinet Post

Newly Elected Northern MLA Lands Cabinet Post

Friday, November 21, 2003 at 14:30

 

 

 

A rookie MLA from Northern Saskatchewan has been appointed to a cabinet position, while a fellow northern MLA is getting a reduced role in cabinet.

 

Premier Lorne Calvert announced his new cabinet today.

 

Newly elected Cumberland MLA Joan Beatty has been given the job of overseeing the department of Culture, Youth and Recreation.

 

Beatty will also serve as the Provincial Secretary.

 

Meanwhile, Athabasca MLA Buckley Belanger is no longer the minister in charge of Saskatchewan Environment. That portfolio has been given to Saskatoon MLA David Forbes. However, Belanger still remains the minister of Northern Affairs.

 

Belanger says he welcomes Calvert’s decision to lessen his workload and is looking forward to concentrating most of his attention to what he promises will be a bigger and better Northern Affairs department.

 

Belanger says while there likely won’t be an increase in the number of civil servants that work in the department, he says the premier has pledged more financial resources to Northern Affairs.

 

As well, Belanger says Northern Affairs will soon be assuming responsibilities currently handled by other government departments, including overseeing northern housing.

 

In another cabinet move announced today, Meadow Lake MLA Maynard Sonntag was named the province’s new minister of Aboriginal Affairs.