THE BATTLEFORDS - Battlefords-Lloydminster MP Rosemarie Falk is no longer in the Conservative shadow cabinet.
Opposition leader Erin O’Toole announced his shadow cabinet appointments Tuesday and Falk was one of the notable omissions. In the last House, Falk had been the shadow minister for seniors, but that role is now being taken over by Shelby Kramp-Neuman, the newly-elected MP for Hastings—Lennox and Addington.
From Saskatchewan, former leader Andrew Scheer is Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Communities, while another Regina MP, Warren Steinley, will be Shadow Minister for Prairie Economic Development and Inter-provincial Trade. Meanwhile, Gary Vidal of Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River has been named Shadow Minister for Crown-Indigenous Relations, while Randy Hoback of Prince Albert is named Shadow Minister for International Trade and Supply Chain Resilience.
Other notable moves were the reinstatement of Pierre Poilievre to Finance critic, and Ed Fast to Innovation, Science and Industry, as well as the move of Luc Berthold to Health and Michelle Rempel Garner to Natural Resources.
Also notable was that the former leadership contender Leslyn Lewis, recently elected to represent Haldimand-Norfolk, was not named to the shadow cabinet.
It is not clear why Falk was left out of the shadow cabinet, but there has been some media speculation Tuesday that her stance on mandatory vaccinations might have been a factor in the decision.
In a statement on Facebook on Tuesday Falk said: "To clarify, as the leader's comments may have otherwise suggested, I am fully focused on fighting for the interests of my constituents including opposing inflation, the Liberal-NDP coalition and COVID misinformation. My position also remains that while vaccines are a safe and effective way to reduce the spread of Covid-19, Canadians should have the right to make their own personal health decisions and to medical privacy."
