Busy Summer – Cabinet Shuffles, Appointments and an Update on Minister Morneau’s Proposed Tax Changes

The summer for many businesses is a good time to relax and rejuvenate.  For senior political leaders, as you’ll see from the summary below, it is a time to reset your leadership team and refocus as required.

On August 10, Saskatchewan’s Premier Brad Wall announced his resignation from politics effective the end of January.  The Saskatchewan Party will select its new leader at a leadership convention on January 27 in Saskatoon.  Since the Premier’s resignation, 5 ministers have resigned from cabinet of which 4 have announced their formal leadership candidacy: Gord Wyant, Tina Beaudry-Mellor, Jeremy Harrison, Ken Cheveldayoff.  Earlier this week the Minister of the Environment (and farmer), Scott Moe, resigned his cabinet position but at the time of writing this, he has not officially declared his candidacy for the leadership race.  With these cabinet resignations, the Premier filled the vacancies with those who have a history of strong performance.  Some members will recall meeting Steven Bonk, MLA for Moosomin who spoke at our July 17 networking reception in Saskatoon – he is now the Minister of Economy.  The Honourable Lyle Stewart continues in the role of Minister of Agriculture.  Another key leadership candidate is Alanna Koch, who prior to announcing her candidacy for the leadership of the Saskatchewan Party was the deputy minister to the Premier, the top civil servant in the Saskatchewan government  Alanna has taken an unpaid leave of absence from her role.

On August 17, Manitoba’s Premier Brian Pallister increased his cabinet by 1 minister (he split the portfolios of Indigenous and Northern Relations and Municipal Relations) and shuffled 5 others.  Most significant for our industry was the appointment of the Honourable Blain Pedersen, MLA for Midland, as the new Minister of Growth, Enterprise and Trade.  Our MB provincial advisory committee chair, Gary Anderson, was in the Legislature on the day of the shuffle to congratulate Minister Pedersen in his new role and thank the Honourable Cliff Cullen for his work and support of our industry especially as it pertains to international trade and Manitoba’s presence at the 2017 Agritechnica Show in Hanover, Germany. We will be meeting Minister Pederson in the coming weeks to bring him up to speed with our industry and facilitate introductions so he knows some of our industry’s key business leaders.  If you’re interested in being part of this briefing on agriculture equipment manufactured in Manitoba, please contact AMC president, Leah at leah@a-m-c.ca

On August 30, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shuffled some ministerial responsibilities; however, there were no changes to the key ministers we work with. Here is a list of the federal cabinet: http://pm.gc.ca/eng/cabinet  That said, frustration and concern is mounting over the proposed tax changes Minister Morneau announced on July 18.  AMC’s president met with Minister Morneau’s office this past week raising concerns about anticipated negative impacts to agricultural equipment manufacturers the majority of whom are privately held.  The proposed changes are aimed at closing perceived or real loop holes relative to privately held companies.  Leah also encouraged them to extend the consultation period to at least the end of December to allow stakeholders to not only understand the proposed changes but to provide time to develop appropriate (versus hasty) options.  KPMG is providing AMC’s members an exclusive webinar briefing September 19 from 12:00-13:00 CST and we encourage all members to partake to ensure you are aware of what is being contemplated.  Please register for the webinar by contacting Ty at ty@a-m-c.ca  AMC is also working with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) and other industry associations to raise concerns about the proposed changes.

The shadow federal Conservative caucus was also announced this past week and is available at:  https://www.conservative.ca/team/#minister

To continue protecting and strengthening our industry, AMC works with the political parties who have formed government but also the opposition parties.  We appreciate members input and engagement with advocacy.  If you have questions about the above changes, please don’t hesitate to contact Leah or Ty.