Selinger's Choices

So much for people rumoured to stepping down.

The new cabinet jumps from 18 to 19 people. Many stayed in their old job. As predicted Bill Blaikie and Jennifer Howard were named to cabinet.

Some predicted that Flor Marcelino would get a spot and she did.

As listed by the CBC, here is what they are responsible for:

* Jennifer Howard, minister of labour and immigration and minister responsible for persons with disabilities.
* Bill Blaikie, minister of conservation.
* Flor Marcelino, minister of culture, heritage and tourism.

Rosann Wowchuk becomes Finance Minister, the first woman to hold that position.
Steve Aston becomes Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation.

Some other cabinet changes included:

* Andrew Swan, minister of justice and attorney general.
* Stan Struthers, minister of agriculture, food and rural initiatives.
* Kerri Ivin-Ross, minister of housing and community development.
* Eric Robinson, minister of aboriginal and northern affairs.
* Jim Rondeau, minister of healthy living, citizenship and youth
* Peter Bjornson, minister of entrepreneurship, training and trade.
* Dave Chomiak, minister of innovation, energy and mines.
* Nancy Allen, minister of education.
* Ron Lemieux, minister of local government.

There were no changes to:

Teresa Oswald (health), Gord Mackintosh (family services), Diane McGifford (advanced education) and Christine Melnick (water stewardship) remain in charge of their respective portfolios.

It still feels like Gary Doer's government but some of the charm that Doer had is just not going to be there. It is probably going to take a little while for people to get to know Selinger.

The mere absence of Doer makes some ridings competitive for the Progressive Conservatives.

Given the large cabinet, the PCs can probably find some weak performers to critique and put into question the performance of the government. It is a while to the election and some major issues of the economy could give the NDP its first real test in years.



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CBC News

I waited a bit to CBC News on both radio and television. Aside from a new a music intro for the radio news, it hasn't changed much. CBC's The National and CBC Newsworld had had significant changes though.

Much of the media has made light of the lack of chairs for all of the CBC News programs. They have a point. Some may recall when Peter Kent used to stand by a podium. It was an experiment that didn't last.

I think the thing many people have noticed is the busy background of swirling graphics.

In terms of content, the National is still presenting the news as they have but it seems more geared to who is delivering the news. In other words, Peter Mansbridge is interacting more with the correspondents, sometimes in the studio.

As the days passed, they have stopped Peter from roaming around the National studio floor as much as he did in the first day.

I'll wait a few more weeks to assess again but CBC's National News now ranks third in the country for national newscasts.

I hold off on commentary on the new Politics show and the new business show with Lang and O'Leary.

As for CBC's News at 6, I find it repetitive. Given 90 minutes, I'd expect a little difference in each half hour. It would be nice to see a local politics panel once a week or a review of entertainment rather than a constant refrain of the the same stuff.

It is good to see a late night local CBC News again but it is a pale comparison to what they used to have for late night.



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The Selinger Era

Greg Selinger pretty much had the advantage in terms of winning the NDP leaderdship from the beginning. After Andrew Swan bowed out, the momentum tilted towards Selinger even more. What Steve Ashton did was campaign hard, gain membership and keep some excitement in what many believed was a forgone conclusion. Organized labour used its slate to ensure it was a foregone conclusion by using their reserved slate of delegates to massively support Selinger. Perhaps they feared Ashton was too much of a gamble compared to the more drab and centrist Selinger.

So now we have the Greg Selinger era.

Aside from the chaos of the H1N1, Selinger has a number of changes to make in his cabinet, Hydro board and in his personal staff. He will probably keep much of the Doer team in place but he has to find a strong person to replace him in Finance and a replacement for Oscar Lathlin.

That is only a small amount of spaces for change unless some of the cabinet is leaving politics and first stepping down from cabinet.

Rumour is that there are two cabinet people who may be stepping down.

They are:

Dianne McGifford

That leaves an opening in Advanced Education.

Dave Chomiak

That leaves an opening in Justice.

I have heard no confirmation of either.

My guess is that we will see Bill Blaikie added to cabinet but beyond that, it gets fuzzy. Jennifer Howard comes to mind.

There may be a few people left on the sidelines after this wondering if they will ever get a chance in cabinet. I imagine that there might be one or two that might be a bit upset.

This is one of the main issues about a long serving government. The beginning of the end for the NDP in the 1980s was not keeping everyone happy in their caucus.



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Google brings Street View to Canada

Google Street View of Canada is available today.

Winnipeg is not available yet.



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Kenaston Boulevard Part 1

Manitoba Minister of Transportation Ron Lemieux (right) along with Winnipeg Deputy Mayor Justin Swandel talk to the media about Kenaston Boulevard plans.

Free Press photo

Surprised we don't have Bruinooge with a prop cheque too.

The Conservative Party cheque giveaway continues and Winnipeg is the recipient of the money to spent... in a Conservative riding. Amazing how that happens, right?

Rod Bruinooge, the Winnipeg South MP for the Tories is ponying up $18 million while the province is on the hook for $15 million and the city will pay $22 million.

With all spending, the cheque is not in the mail. Bruinooge says that the money is contingent on the Tories getting elected. Nice.

Later, Bruinooge said the federal cash is contingent on the Harper government winning the looming election or surviving long enough to write the cheque.

Ostensibly, this money is to extend Kenaston to the Perimeter Highway where it turns into Bishop Grandin. It is also to link Waverley to the Kenaston through Waverley Heights. The plan seems a little sketchy on whether an overpass is in the works at Bishop Grandin or an interchange at the Perimeter.

There are so many questions about this project. If it is supposed to be a stimulus project, one figures it would be starting by at least next year. An actual detailed plan is critical as well as a debate about the pros and cons of things such as underpass or interchange.



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CKX Part 4

The message left on CKX's website.

In a shocker, CKX collapsed after Bluepoint walked away from keeping the station afloat. Here is the video of their final broadcast.

The impact on the community will be substantial.



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H & M Coming to Winnipeg

This report just in:

H & M is coming to Winnipeg.



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