Goodale appointed as Ignatieff’s deputy

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This article was published 08/09/2010 (5781 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff overhauled his team of critics for various government portfolios Tuesday and added a deputy leader to fill in for him as he continues his road trips across Canada this fall.

Veteran Liberal MP Ralph Goodale was tapped as Ignatieff’s second-in-command and Ottawa MP David McGuinty was named to the key position of Opposition House leader, replacing Goodale, who has held it since 2006.

House leaders are responsible for organizing the business of the Commons and when Parliament resumes on Sept. 20, MPs will immediately face a number of controversial issues. A vote on the long-gun registry, for example, is scheduled for Sept. 22, and the opposition parties have vowed to hold the government to account over its decision to cancel the long-form census.

Other key critic changes announced Tuesday involve Marcel Proulx being named the new party whip, Scott Brison as the new finance critic — replacing John McCallum, who moves to the transport and infrastructure portfolio — and Dominic LeBlanc as the new defence critic. Gerard Kennedy inherits the environment file from McGuinty, and Ujjal Dosanjh replaces Carolyn Bennett as the health critic.

Finance and defence are critical files, and the Liberals also plan to push their health policy agenda in the coming months.

In another change, Justin Trudeau takes on the more senior role of citizenship and immigration critic, replacing Maurizio Bevilacqua who quit his seat.

Denis Coderre also rejoins Ignatieff’s list of go-to MPs as the natural resources critic. Last fall, he gave up his role as Quebec lieutenant because of some internal party wrangling over a candidate nomination in Quebec and he criticized Ignatieff’s inner circle for being too Toronto-centric.

— Postmedia News