Notley, 11 cabinet ministers to be sworn in Sunday at legislature

By Mariam Ibrahim, Edmonton Journal May 20, 2015, Source – Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON - Albertans will get their first look at their new NDP government when Rachel Notley’s cabinet is unveiled on Sunday in a 2 p.m. swearing-in ceremony on the legislature grounds.

Notley’s new cabinet will be small by recent Alberta standards — it will consist of 12 ministers including herself, the premier-designate told a news conference Wednesday at the legislature. Notley, who will become Alberta’s 17th premier, declined to reveal the names or portfolios of her new ministers until the ceremony. The swearing-in will be held on the main steps of the legislature and promises to be a family affair, with music and cold treats for kids.

Each minister will be responsible for more than one portfolio, but Notley said her government won’t merge or collapse any departments.

“At this point it’s about working with a core group, getting a strong sense of what we have in front of us in terms of the work that we need to do and then moving forward from there,” Notley said. “It’s not our plan to engage in a massive reorganization, but rather, it’s a concentration of our efforts.”

Her cabinet will hold its first meetings in Calgary the following week, she said.

The remaining members of the NDP caucus and opposition MLAs are scheduled to be sworn in June 1.

The incoming premier said she also plans to convene a truncated legislative session this spring but Albertans won’t get to see a full-blown NDP budget until this fall.

“It’s really important to ensure that all members of my caucus are able to engage in that process and be part of that process as we go through balancing our fiscal plan to meet the objectives that we laid out in our platform,” Notley said. “It’s not an easy process; it’s going to require a great deal of work over the summer.”

Notley said she will recall the legislature on June 11 to elect a new Speaker to replace outgoing Tory Gene Zwozdesky. MLAs will convene again on June 15 for a speech from the throne and at least two government bills, she added.

She said she plans to pass interim supply orders to fund government operations through the summer, as temporary funding orders — passed in the absence of a provincial budget — expire at the end of June.

“We felt that it was important to meet those commitments to be fair and open and democratic, to come back into the session to talk about the interim supply and to give Albertans and all members of the assembly the opportunity to have some preliminary discussions,” Notley said.

Wildrose house leader Nathan Cooper said it was “understandable” a new budget won’t be tabled until the fall and applauded Notley’s move to reconvene the legislature to debate interim supply spending.

“Clearly we look forward to debating the budget in the fall and get back into the legislature to hold the government to account,” Cooper said.

But he said he was worried a smaller cabinet could lead to a larger bureaucracy as ministers rely more heavily on the civil service.

Notley’s New Democrats were elected to a 54-seat majority on May 5, toppling the nearly 44-year-old Progressive Conservative government and leaving it with 10 seats.

The incoming premier has spent the last two weeks assembling a transition team to help take the reins of her new government. She immediately reached out to oil and gas executives who expressed concerns about an NDP victory before the election, but hasn’t backed away from her promise to initiate a review of Alberta’s complex royalty system. On Wednesday she said a review remains high on her cabinet’s list of priorities.

CABINET COMPARISON

How does Premier-designate Rachel Notley’s 12-member cabinet stack up against the rest of the country?

Prince Edward Island: 9

Alberta: 12

New Brunswick: 13

Nova Scotia: 15

Saskatchewan: 18

Newfoundland and Labrador: 18

Manitoba: 19

B.C.: 20

Quebec: 26

Ontario: 27