Five ministers took on new job titles Thursday as part of a cabinet shuffle that Premier Dennis King characterized as a “sharpening of focus” as his government prepares for the winter sitting of the legislature.
In a socially-distanced ceremony at Government House, attended by Lt.-Gov. Antoinette Perry, King announced the changes in portfolios of five ministers and said the COVID-19 epidemic has tested his government.
No new ministers have been added to cabinet.
"The seas that we have been sailing have not always been friendly. And, as the saying goes, it's rough water that makes good sailors," King said.
In an interview with reporters following the swearing-in, King said cabinet shuffles are coming at the mid-point of governments.
“It's part of an overall reset and a sharpening of focus that we need to do as a government now as we eye the finish line of COVID," King said.
James Aylward will be replaced as minister of health and wellness by Ernie Hudson. Hudson’s previous role as minister of social development and housing will be filled by Brad Trivers.
Trivers’ previous role as minister of education and lifelong learning will be assumed by former environment, water and climate change minister Natalie Jameson.
Jameson’s previous role will be filled by Steven Myers. His title will be changed to minister of environment, energy and climate change.
Myers will also remain responsible for energy policy in P.E.I. and will retain responsibility for both the P.E.I. Energy Corporation and the Net Zero plan to reduce greenhouse emissions to net zero by 2040.
Aylward will move into Myers’ formal role as minister of transportation, infrastructure and energy.
Aylward faced significant scrutiny early in the pandemic after not properly self-isolating following a work trip to Ireland. More recently, Aylward has faced criticism for his handling of the mental health and addictions file. Many saw the closure of the psychiatric Unit 9 at the Queen Elizabeth hospital as a sign that mental health was not adequately prioritized during the pandemic.
King downplayed the criticism of Aylward but acknowledged change was needed on the mental health file in P.E.I.
"We have to be very open and honest with ourselves,” King said.
“There are many, many things that we're doing very, very well in health care and there are things that we need to change. COVID has shown us a lot about mental health and addictions challenges in Prince Edward Island."
The changes come weeks after Health P.E.I. shuffled its own leadership team. Infectious disease specialist Michael Gardam stepped into the role of chief operating officer in January.
There were also changes in the Island's top public servants responsible for mental health and addictions.
Dr. Heather Keizer is no longer the chief of mental health and addictions, a position that had also seen her take on a senior leadership position within Health P.E.I.; Lisa Thibeau is now the acting executive director for mental health and addictions for Health P.E.I. Mental health and addictions chief administrative officer Verna Ryan is currently on secondment with the Department of Health and Wellness.
“I can't really get into human resource issues," Aylward said Thursday, when asked about the departures of the two staffers.
"We did take some time to look at the overall structure of Health P.E.I. and the executive leadership team," he added, noting the additions to the Health P.E.I. leadership team.
Aylward said he was most proud of serving as health minister while P.E.I. dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. He hopes to focus on an Islandwide transit system as a priority in his new role.
Hudson said his priority as health minister will be “keeping Islanders safe”. He also suggested a focus of home care for seniors will a priority.
“If you look at 100 seniors that are living in their own homes, probably all 100 of them want to stay there as long as they can," Hudson said.
Green Opposition Leader Peter Bevan-Baker said he was surprised to see Hudson moved into Health and Wellness, widely viewed as the most difficult role in cabinet. Bevan-Baker said he saw the biggest “challenges of leadership” in Hudson’s and Aylward’s former roles.
"I wasn't given comfort that Minister Hudson coped well with all of the demands of that file over the two years. So, moving him to what is in many respects a more demanding file was a surprise," Bevan-Baker said.
The change in leadership comes as P.E.I., like other provinces, faces delays in the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines. Bevan-Baker said negotiating this roll-out will require close relationships with federal government counterparts.
"There's no way that Minister Hudson is going to be able to create those sorts of relationships immediately," Bevan-Baker said.
Liberal interim leader Sonny Gallant said he hoped the change in leadership would put renewed focus on the mental health file.
"This was an election promise they made. The whole thing got set aside when COVID hit. It's time they started talking about it,” Gallant said.
"It's something that they did have in their platform and they haven't done anything."
*A previous version of this article stated Verna Ryan was replaced within mental health and addictions. In fact, Ryan is on secondment, in a position with the Department of Health and Wellness.
Posted by Prince Edward Island Government on Thursday, 4 February 2021
