Surprise N.L. cabinet shuffle sees John Haggie, Tom Osborne switch roles
Haggie has been health minister since 2015; Osborne returns to portfolio he held in Danny Williams era
Two of Newfoundland and Labrador's top politicians were shuffled into new cabinet positions Wednesday morning.
Tom Osborne, the former head of the Department of Education, will now take over as health minister, replacing John Haggie.
Haggie, a former surgeon who steered the province through the COVID-19 pandemic, is now the education minister.
Premier Andrew Furey congratulated Haggie as one of the longest-standing health ministers of all time. "And they haven't been easy times," he told reporters.
"There's criticisms everywhere across the country right now, with closing emergency departments, stress and strain on nurses, on doctors. Doctor recruitment issues. It's not unique to here."
Interim PC Leader David Brazil welcomed the shuffle, which he called long overdue.
"Unfortunately, the former minister was the only person that didn't admit we're in a health-care crisis and didn't come up with a collaborative plan that would enhance the health-care worker, enhance the organizations that they represent, and more importantly would improve health care and access to it," Brazil said Wednesday afternoon.
"This is a new, fresh start. We're hoping it goes in the right direction."
Brazil said he hopes Osborne brings a fresh perspective to the portfolio and works more closely with medical professionals, who he says had a sour working relationship with Haggie.
He says Osborne's first priority should be to review the Health Accord, a plan calling for dramatic changes to health-care spending over the next 10 years, to be more open and transparent, and to reach out to organizations and the public to hear what they have to say.
"Ask people for their input, ask them to be open around what are the best ways that provided health care could be done in areas here," he said. "It's a big task, but with the right attitude and the right approach … the solutions are there."
Osborne, previously a finance minister for the Liberals, also served as health minister under Danny Williams's Progressive Conservative government in the mid-2000s.
Osborne helmed the Health Department during a political scandal over how hundreds of breast cancer patients received flawed test results through the health authority now known as Eastern Health. He testified at an inquiry that he wasn't told about the error.
The inquiry, led by Justice Margaret Cameron, found top health authority officials withheld mistakes from the provincial government.
Cameron ruled "there was a failure of both accountability and oversight at all levels" in her March 2009 report.
Haggie tackled growing challenges
Haggie, meanwhile, has led the Health Department since the Liberals took power in 2015, most recently grappling with more than two years of COVID-19 regulations and a cyberattack on the health system last year.
The shuffle comes at a time of increased tension for the department, lately plagued by staffing shortages at its four health authorities, a lack of family doctors, and long wait times for mental health care.
On Wednesday, Haggie rattled off a list of achievements in his seven years as health minister, and said it was a "natural time" to change portfolios.
"Perfect time, perfect opportunity to look forward to something new, and I'm really excited about the prospects in education," he said.
Despite his strong medical background, Haggie said he's also dabbled in adult education, having taught medical students.
"I bring a different perspective," Haggie said. "I feel like I have a passing acquaintance with it.… I think I bring a critical mind and an analytical approach."
The ministry as it stands is also groaning under the weight of health-care costs, which eat up approximately 40 per cent of the provincial budget.
Premier Andrew Furey pledged to revamp the system through the Health Accord N.L.
In its final report, released last month, the Health Accord team recommended that the department create one provincial ambulance system, merge its four health authorities and create a virtual emergency service over the next 10 years, among dozens of other suggestions.
Osborne will now take over those obstacles, noting to reporters on Wednesday that recruitment and retention, which the province has struggled with in recent years, is a global problem.
"One thing that motivates me is a challenge," he said.
Interim NDP Leader Jim Dinn questioned the timing of the shuffle, especially as the province prepares to amalgamate its school districts into a single board under the Department of Education.
"When it comes to that transition piece, I'm hoping Minister Haggie will be cognizant of the many working parts. But to be honest with you, I'm a little bit concerned because both have not offered any inspiration," said Dinn, a former teacher.
Dinn says he hopes Haggie, who doesn't have a background in education, can learn from the "mistakes and missteps" he made in his now former portfolio, saying he believes Haggie has underperformed in recent years.
Like Brazil, he hopes both ministers will bring increased transparency to their work.
"Both ministers had a terrible lack of transparency around a lot of issues. That's something that's got to stop, I don't care who's in charge," he said.
With files from Terry Roberts and On The Go
