Sometimes, the best cabinet moves a Premier makes are the ones he doesn't make.
For example, prior to his May 2009 cabinet shuffle Premier Brad Wall had Kelvington-Wadena MLA June Draude in the First Nations and Metis Relations portfolio and Regina South MLA and former city councillor Bill Hutchinson in the Municipal Affairs ministry. Both seemed well suited to where they were.But for reasons that remain a mystery to many, Wall moved Hutchinson out of his municipal governance element to the headache-filled world of First Nations and Metis Relations. It didn't work well for either Hutchinson or the government, as relations with First Nations declined. Similarly, Draude's placement in the Crown Investment Corporation portfolio never really seemed to fit her.
Last Tuesday, Wall rectified the situation by putting Draude in Social Services that would seem to better suit her skill set. Meanwhile, Hutchinson would also seem better suited in his new role as Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport Minister where his promotional skills might be better put to use.
Of course, cabinet shuffles aren't usually measured by such subtle decisions. Usually, cabinet shuffles are defined by who's in and who's out. From that perspective, this might not seem like a particular good shuffle for rural Saskatchewan.
Of the three ministers departing, two of them - Melfort's Rod Gantefoer and Rosthern's Nancy Heppner - are from rural ridings. Meanwhile, of the three incoming ministers, only Lloydminster's Tim McMillan is from a rural riding.
But when you look a little more closely, this actually is a pretty good shuffle for rural Saskatchewan - especially, because of the moves that weren't made.
For starters, while there is slightly less of rural presence at the cabinet table with Prince Albert Carlton MLA Darryl Hickie (Municipal Affairs) and Regina-Qu'Appelle Valley MLA Laura Ross (Government Services) joining McMillan to replace Gantefoer, Heppner and Regina Wascana's Christine Tell, let us not forget that this is still a very rural-oriented government with 12 of 18 cabinet portfolios represented by rural MLAs.
For another thing, the rural MLAs that were shuffled all seemed to take on more responsibility. Draude's new role in social services has to be seen as a bigger job with a bigger budget. Similarly, Donna Harpauer's move from social services to Education is viewed as a promotion for good work in her former portfolio.
And while rural Saskatchewan - and the entire province, for that matter - suffer a loss with Gantefoer's pending retirement for health reasons, the elevation of Deputy Premier Ken Krawetz to finance means the government's most powerful ministry remains under the care of another rural MLA.The loss of Heppner from environment may be seen as blow to rural Saskatchewan, but Heppner's struggles in this ministry left some questioning whether she truly grasped rural environmental issues.Meanwhile, Weyburn's Dustin Duncan's elevation to environment from Tourism, Culture, Recreation and Sport is a step up the ladder. The same can be said for Meadow Lake's Jeremy Harrison's move from municipal affairs to the trade and innovation ministry.
But what should make rural voters happiest are the moves that we're made - the ones involving portfolios arguably most critical to rural life that are still represented by the same rural minister.Indian Head-Milestone MLA Don McMorris stays in health - good news for those awaiting funding approval of rural hospitals and nursing homes.
Melville-Saltcoat's Bob Bjornerud stays in agriculture. Rosetown's Jim Reiter stays in highways and Kindersley MLA Bill Boyd remains in energy (albeit, with fewer responsibilities that should allow him to concentrate on his most critical duties).
For rural residents, this shuffle may be best defined by the moves that weren't made.Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics for over 15 years.
