Analyzing opposition critic shuffles is kind of like talking about who the backup left tackle is for the St. Louis Rams; it doesn't matter that much, we probably shouldn't spend much (any?) time discussing it but for true junkies, that doesn't stop us from doing so.
That being said, I really like the shuffle that Michael Ignatieff made today. He's promoted youth and rewarded performance over years in Ottawa. That was something that was needed and shows Ignatieff is gaining in confidence in his job. Ignatieff had a wonderfully successful summer but it won't mean much unless that momentum is carried over into the fall session and this new team gives him a better chance for a successful fall.
Particular changes I like are:
» Putting Scott Brison in as finance critic. This is not a shot at John McCallum. McCallum is a smart man with a deep knowledge of finance but from a communications perspective, well, he isn't Scott Brison. Scott is one of the best communicators in the Liberal caucus, good both with a sound-bite and a substantive speech. Seeing him go up against Jim Flaherty this fall will be fun to watch. Hopefully he will also help further flush out some clear positions in the platform and budget response process.
» Giving Justin Trudeau a huge promotion to immigration critic is a good move that will ruffle some feathers in Ottawa. The likely "unnamed Liberal" response tells me it is a good move. For Trudeau to be as successful as he can be with the file, he needs to be more than the guy who shows up at every multicultural event across the country (though that is obviously a big part of the job). The Liberal Party is in desperate need of a new, coherent policy position on how immigration and refugee policy fit with our vision for Canada in the new century. This policy needs to be more than rhetoric and can't simply be an ode to the past. This is a great opportunity for Justin to stake out some serious policy positions that help the current leader as well as the party over the long-term. The party's response to the Tamil refugee issue will also be a key part of his role.
» Gerard Kennedy at environment. Gerard had a huge success last winter putting in hundreds of hours of work, with an army of volunteers calling municipalities across the country to expose the government's incompetence on stimulus spending. Rumour has it there is an Environment Minister in the current Harper cabinet - though nobody can actually prove it to be the case. I expect Gerard to raise the heat on whoever he/she may be this session for the total lack of a Canadian climate change policy.
While I imagine the party's new natural resources critic will dominate much of the news, I think these other changes should be the main focus.