Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at the National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism, on March 6, in Ottawa.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet are signing off on dozens of order-in-council appointments in the final days of this Liberal government, sources say.
The cabinet met virtually Thursday to rubber stamp up to 70 appointments, including 12 judges, three sources told The Globe and Mail. They do not include filling five vacant Senate seats that are the sole responsibility of the Prime Minister.
The Globe is not identifying the sources, as they were not authorized to discuss cabinet confidences.
The appointments are on top of a run of Liberal government announcements in recent days, including the Thursday declaration of a $37-billion agreement with the provinces and territories to continue expanding on the existing $10-a-day child care program.
The Liberals will elect their next leader on Sunday, who is expected to pick a new cabinet next week.
It’s unusual for a government on the way out the door to make so many appointments to federal agencies, tribunals, port authorities, the courts and Crown corporations. The Trudeau Liberals once harshly criticized then-prime minister Stephen Harper for doing it.
Dominic LeBlanc, who was the Liberal House leader at the time, sent a letter to 33 recent appointees, urging them not to accept the appointments. Some agreed to the request, while others did not.
For instance, Canada Post’s board of directors rejected Mr. LeBlanc’s request that the recently appointed president, Deepak Chopra, should resign.
The next Liberal leader is expected to call an election before Parliament is scheduled to resume sitting on March 24.
In February, 2016, the Trudeau government announced a new process for Governor-in-Council appointments, with a promise to raise the bar on “openness and transparency.” That included posting notices of vacancies online.
Which jobs were filled Thursday is unclear, but most cabinet appointments are eventually made public in a database of orders-in-council.
Some of the positions filled in recent months are appointments that can only be terminated for cause, but others are appointees who serve “at the pleasure,” meaning they can be removed by cabinet. Those include trustee positions on the boards of museums and other cultural institutions.
Two former Clerks of the Privy Council – Kevin Lynch and Mel Cappe – have recently said the current government should not be making major announcements, such as high-speed rail and changes to the CBC, with Parliament prorogued and an election in the offing.
In addition to the new child care announcement, the Liberals on Friday will announce next steps for the National Food Program, a $1-billion initiative promised in the 2024 federal budget, as well as updates on the provision of passport services and new immigration measures for the construction sector.
On Thursday, Mr. Trudeau was asked about the importance he was placing on ensuring that marquee programs such as child care remained in place after his departure.
He said the government’s main focus is ending the tariff war with the United States, but said much of his work as prime minister has been driven by finding ways to have a long-term impact, like his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, did.
“Perhaps it’s the example of having heard all my life about a small handful of things that my father was able to do as prime minister that continue to have an impact in people’s lives today,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters after the announcement, citing the Charter, official bilingualism and multiculturalism policies.
Mr. Trudeau’s father made a raft of 200 patronage appointments in the dying days of his government, politically hurting the following Liberal leader, John Turner.
Mr. Turner failed to cancel those appointments, allowing his Progressive Conservative opponent to pummel him in an English-language TV debate: “You had an option, sir. You could have said I am not going to do it. This is wrong for Canada,” Brian Mulroney said. The Turner Liberals went on to lose the 1984 election.
Justin Trudeau’s government has been sharply criticized previously for taking too long to fill empty jobs, especially judges.
Early in 2023, nearly 10 per cent of judges’ chairs on federal benches sat empty – the highest on record back to 2006.
The situation prompted a letter from Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner to the Prime Minister, saying the situation was untenable and that it put access to justice at risk. The government then launched a process to speed up appointments.
Applications for Senate posts are reviewed by an independent advisory council, and then the prime minister has final sign-off.
Mr. Trudeau has filled 95 vacancies using this system, which he set up in 2016. He filled five posts in February, and has five remaining – one for New Brunswick, one for Nova Scotia and three for Ontario.
With a report from Bill Curry