James Moore appointed Minister of Cadman Cover-up

Here's James Moore's reward for protecting Stephen Harper from Harper's self admitted election bribery activities and attempts to buy independent MP Chuck Cadman's vote.


Cabinet swap sees Emerson shifted, Moore promoted
Updated Wed. Jun. 25 2008 11:30 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff

David Emerson has been officially shifted to his new role as Canada's foreign affairs minister following the removal of Maxime Bernier, who was forced to resign over a recent scandal.

The appointment is part of a cabinet mini-shuffle. Several others were either sworn into cabinet for the first time or shuffled to new portfolios during a Wednesday morning ceremony at Ottawa's Rideau Hall.

Sen. Michael Fortier was moved to the International Trade post to replace Emerson and junior minister Christian Paradis was promoted to take over the Public Works portfolio from Fortier.

James Moore, a parliamentary secretary from B.C. who is considered a rising star in the Conservative party, was promoted to cabinet to take on the role of secretary of state for official languages, the Asia-Pacific gateway and the Vancouver Olympics.

* Watch full coverage of the swearing-in ceremony, scheduled for 11 a.m. ET at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, on CTV.ca or on CTV Newsnet.

Bernier resigned from the Foreign Affairs post after it was revealed that he had left classified documents at the home of Julie Couillard, his former girlfriend. It had been revealed earlier that Couillard had personal ties to people involved in Quebec biker gangs.

Emerson was considered by many to be a shoe-in for the post, and a Department of Foreign Affairs news release on Tuesday said the B.C. minister will be attending a G8 meeting in Japan this week, seeming to confirm the appointment. As a result, he was not in Ottawa for the ceremony.

"It's a very good appointment. Mr. Emerson is one of the best cabinet ministers Mr. Harper has. He chairs many cabinet committees, including the special committee on Afghanistan, the foreign affairs and defence committee of cabinet, and he's going to bring some mature leadership to foreign affairs."

Fife suggested that experience will come as a great relief to the department after the brief stint by Bernier.

Meanwhile, Bernier is scheduled to make a speech to his constituents on Wednesday evening -- one of his first public engagements since losing his job.

Fife said he expects Bernier's speech will be vetted carefully by the Prime Minister's Office, and he doesn't anticipate any new details about the scandal that saw him lose his job.