Shadow wasn't just a dog in homeward bound...

Opposition parties appointed their shadow cabinets this week. For politically innocent reading this blog, a shadow cabinet is a set of opposition MPs assigned to each Minister's portfolio to critique the work they do (or in some cases, the work they don't do). Shadow is probably not the right word for it at the federal level. Unrelenting acid rain cloud is probably the more appropriate term.



The department responsible for Post Secondary Education (Human Resources and Skills Development Canada) is under the ministry of Diane Finley.

Her critics:

Liberal MP Mike Savage (Dartmouth Cole Harbour)
NDP MP Tony Martin (Sault Ste. Marie)

The NDP critic is responsible for critiquing the minister based on NDP policy. The Liberal critic however, in addition to being the Liberal critic for the portfolio, is also deemed the official critic of the portfolio for all of Canada as a member of the official opposition. A great idea, keep the other guys in check, but realistically I'm not sold on the effectiveness of it.

Other interesting tidbits:

• Halifax MP Megan Leslie is now the NDP Critic for Post Secondary Education and Literacy, along with some deputy critic duties for the department of Justice and first nations (urban issues). A very fitting portfolio given the landscape of our riding here in Halifax. Puzzling, however is the NDP's choice in cabinet posts. The NDP caucus is one seat short of matching the size of Harper's cabinet, yet the NDP have chosen to have critics (such as critic for Post Secondary Education, Poverty, and Youth) for ministerial positions that don't yet exist.
  
• Harper has one of the largest cabinets in recent history (with 38 MPS) rivaled only by the cabinets of Brian Mulroney.
  
• Cabinet members get tonnes of perks. Namely, a $67 700 raise from their standard MP's salary of $155 400/year (which alone puts all MPs in the top two percent of income earners in Canada). And, don't forget the limo rides.