Cabinet-making

Those who are pushing the line that Danny Williams will put Patty Pottle in cabinet give some serious thought to whether he will put her in cabinet with very, very, very, very serious consideration, should give their heads a shake.

And the media really ought to consult their backfiles and do a little reality-check. You know: reality check. The sort of thing the media used to do in the good old days. Like in 2006.

Rob Antle, in the October 17, 2003 edition of the Telegram, was already engaging in a little Labrador cabinet speculation:

A Tory candidate in Labrador is a "redneck" with a racist history whose potential elevation to cabinet in a Danny Williams administration would turn back the clock on aboriginal relations in the province, Innu Nation President Peter Penashue charges.

But Penashue could not give a specific example in which John Hickey acted in a racist manner.

And Hickey, who is running for the Progressive Conservatives in Lake Melville, strongly denied the allegations, calling them unfortunate and made in the heat of an election campaign. "I see no need to wallow in the mud and give those comments more attention than they deserve," he said.

[For the record: Hickey in his rebuttal to Penashue was right.]

After Williams' swearing-in on November 6th, sans Hickey, the expectation that he would have made the cut was again pointed out, if retrospectively. Barb Sweet wrote in the November 7th edition of the Telegram:

Lake Melville MHA John Hickey — the only Tory MHA from Labrador — was expected to get the Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs post, but that portfolio was divided between Straits and White Bay North MHA Trevor Taylor (Labrador), who is also fisheries minister; and Lewisporte MHA Tom Rideout (aboriginal affairs), who is also minister of works, services and transportation.

And, again retrospectively, the cabinet expectation was cited as a factor in the Lake Melville district outcome. As VOCM reported on November 6th:

Williams Unveils New Cabinet; Outrage in Labrador
11/6/03 (Scott Chafe/Doug Learning)

Brandon Pardy ran for the Labrador Party in the provincial election and told VOCM Open Line many people decided to vote for Hickey because they expected him to be able to represent the region in cabinet.

In any event, whatever the expectations and voter motivations going into the vote, Danny Williams didn't see the need to have Labrador represented in his cabinet at all:

But the Conservatives were quickly criticized for leaving Labrador's sole Conservative representative, John Hickey, out of cabinet.

"It's insulting", said Brandon Pardy, who ran for the fledgling Labrador party. The party garnered a large portion of votes in two ridings but failed to capture a seat.

Williams defended the move and pointed out that Labrador Affairs Minister Trevor Taylor was born in Labrador.

...

"You can't have it both ways," he said. "If you're going to cut the cabinet back then obviously certain portions of the province, minute portions of the province, can be left out."