Cabinet shuffle concerning for northern Indigenous communities, says Timmins-James Bay MP

The federal cabinet shuffle on Monday spells significant change for Indigenous communities in northern Ontario.

New Democrat MP for Timmins-James Bay, Charlie Angus, is hopeful having Jane Philpott on the Treasury Board will help Kashechewan First Nation relocate to higher ground.

Philpott, who was the Minister of Indigenous Services, is now president of the Treasury Board. Seamus O'Regan takes over the Indigenous Services portfolio.

"All fairness, Seamus is a nice guy, but he was not very good in Veterans Affairs, and I'm worried about how he'll be able to handle a file that really needs someone who's got the guts and the determination to go in and shake that institution up," Angus said.

However, Angus says he does hope that Philpott will be a positive influence at the Treasury Board, in that having her there could help move funds where they're needed.

"You need the Treasury Board to sign off on a project as big as moving Kashechewan onto the high ground," he said.

Angus described Kashechewan as being in a catch-22.

"Can't keep putting investments into a community that floods, but until the government is willing to actually put the money down to move the community to the high ground nothing is going to change."

The northern Ontario First Nation has been advocating to the government to help it relocate away from the flooding from the nearby Fort Albany river.

"Minister Philpott last fall, said to the youth delegation when I was there, that she was going to be our champion at the Treasury Board, so I guess we'll wait and see what happens in the budget," he said.

"If she doesn't then we're just into more evacuations and band-aid solutions."

Another part of the cabinet shuffle was Jody Wilson-Raybould, who has been Justice Minister since the Liberals took office, is now Veterans Affairs Minister.

Angus says this looks to him like a demotion for her.

He admitted he had high expectations for Wilson-Raybould when she first took on the justice portfolio, but Angus feels she never stood up on issues.

Following the cabinet shuffle, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denied that this was a demotion for Wilson-Raybould insisting she is "extraordinarily capable" and that the Veterans Affairs portfolio should not be seen as anything other than a "deep and awesome responsibility."

Wilson-Raybould released a lengthy statement following the change, highlighting and defending her record as justice minister, and stating that she was proud to be the Veterans Affairs Minister.

"I would say that I can think of no world in which I would consider working for our veterans in Canada as a demotion," she said. 

Montreal M-P David Lametti replaces Wilson-Raybould at Justice.

Angus says the Indigenous Services department should be dismantled and have services like health and education services, delivered in the various regions.

"It's going to need a real radical overhaul if we're going to start to see improvement in the lives of the communities that I'm honoured to represent," he said.

"We've got to start shaking that department up."