HANNAFORD: Expect no new directions from Mr. Carney's new cabinet

Those who comment upon Canadian politics for a living, are telling us that who Prime Minister Carney chooses to lead his government will tell us something about the direction he means to go, as his ministry beds in. Don't believe a word of it. It doesn't work like that.Yes, were former environment minister Steven Guilbeault removed from Heritage where he was hidden away for a few weeks in April and returned to Environment and Climate Change Canada, one could assume that Mr. Carney was happy with the minister's erstwhile approach to Canada's increasingly lonely war on climate change and wanted more misery for Alberta's oilpatch. Same for other reappointments.However, the Office of the Prime Minister is signalling that a considerable number of Cabinet seats — as many as half — may be given to MPs who have not previously served, including some freshly elected.Would that signify a fresh approach?.It would signify an attempt to portray a fresh approach.For one thing, although eleven sitting Liberal MPs lost their seats in the April 28 election, nearly 150 did not. So when it comes to constructing a Cabinet, Mr. Carney will be obliged to use much of the same old wood.More to the point however, the ability of individual cabinet ministers to significantly affect the direction of government is often overestimated. If the Trudeau ministry is any guide — and as so many of the key staffers remain, it should be — the direction is decided in the Langevin Block by a handful of very senior staff, and the prime minister.With few exceptions, this direction is then dictated to chiefs of staff in the departments that matter most, all of whom are carefully selected for their ideological compatibility. They will then take care of the details for their ministers and after ten years in power, will for the most part have in place assistant deputy ministers who share their goals.As for the ministers, they do get to ride in the official cars. Getting time with the prime minister to seriously discuss policy was another matter, as Marc Garneau related to the CBC last year..So yes, of course the new cabinet will be presented as all sorts of new directions. Whatever Mr. Carney promises however, it will take some time to see where they really lead and some pessimism is justified.It is, after all, asking a lot to believe that after decades of trying to put the oilpatch out of business, Mr. Carney has really had a Damascus Road experience and seriously means to expand it. And if he has, what about the rest of them? Not that it wouldn't make sense, as David Knight-Legg said on Hannaford last week..HANNAFORD: Smith emerges as the unofficial opposition to Mark Carney.But it seems unlikely.Still, perhaps Mr. Carney now takes the view as that he needs the money to do what he wants to do, he will get corridors established to take pipelines, abandon his predecessor's worthless ambition to achieve net zero and use Alberta's financial power to get Canada rolling again..I am of the view that pigs may also fly, but would happily be proved wrong.The thing is however, that there is more to government that energy policy, more to government than shaking a fist at Donald Trump and more even than making conciliatory gestures towards the West. Your eyes will be directed to that alright, especially Trump. And, the West is about to get a call out. But it's what else they do in the dark corners of policy, that Canadians must keep an eye on.For, given that Mr. Carney is dealing essentially with the same cast of characters, plus a few eager recruits, why would we assume that they have had a change of heart?Here's three out of many old directions that haven't gone away. First, we should assume that out of the limelight, and while all eyes are upon 'western separatism,' the infamous Online Harms Act (Bill C63) will be reactivated. (It died on the Order Paper at prorogation.) Free speech is not a Liberal value, controlling thought, speech and what people say on the Internet, is.Second, Mr.Carney has also pledged to expand the Court Challenges Program. I will not expand upon the excellent contribution too our pages made this morning by Devin Drover, but this is not about seeking justice in the courts; it is about achieving outcomes the government desires, that Parliament cannot vote for. I recommend Drover's piece..DROVER: Here we go again... Carney pledged more use of courts to change Canada.Look too for a continuation of firearms restrictions that much exceed what common sense requires. Every illegal handgun smuggled into Canada becomes an excuse to seize two legal rifles on the prairies.Again, I would happily be proved wrong.But I don't expect to be.

HANNAFORD: Expect no new directions from Mr. Carney's new cabinet

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