We have a new Minister of Defence! (and procurement...)
Welp its official. Bill Blair is out.
I cant say that it's overly shocking. I dont think anyone truely expected Blair to be MND by the end of today. While I will give Blair some credit for holding the fort most of you already know I wasnt his biggest fan.
He was a great placeholder whom was able to smoothly role out the plans left to him. He also did have several good public showings, such as his efforts in Korea last year. I will give credit where it is due.
However, he was also uninspiring, to passive in his role, and while I have no doubt he took it seriously was never going to be a great long-term option. He had long overstayed his welcome by thr time Carney was around.
Now he's out completely from cabinet and in his place we have not one but two new ministers on the defence profile!
David McGuinty, best known for his eight-year stint as Chair of the National Security and Intelligence Committee has taken the reigns as the new Minister of National Defence While Kelowna MP and veteran Stephen Fuhr will take on a new role as Secretary of State for Defence Procurement.
In this role Fuhr will work under McGuinty specifically to tackle the file of Defence Procurement ahead of the establishment of the DPA. He is one of eight new secretaries of state that will operate on a ‘junior’ level in cabinet.
Now McGuinty wouldn't have been my first pick. I will openly admit that, but it is hard to argue that he is the most prepared for the role, and likely the best we have available.
McGuinty previously held the NSICOP chair from 2017 all the way until December when he was appointed Minister of Public Safety. He has a background in International Development before becoming a parliamentarian, including stints with UNICEF.
He isnt coming into this without a background on the current security climate we're facing. He certainly can't be said to be ill prepared to take the role at a time when CAF and the DND are at one of their most pivotal moments in restructuring.
McGuintys work at NSICOP has allowed him to be at the forefront of Canada's intelligence network, which he now brings to the DND. That is the kind of person that, after Bill Blair, I want to see.
Serious, to the point and most of all quiet to the public. Someone who can get things done without being stuck under a microscope, something Blair through fault of his own was.
At least thats my hope from McGuinty. I wont say that he is going to be great, nor will I say that he will be average. I think if given enough independence and a proper mandate that he could be a great Minister.
No one else in the Liberal caucus, in my humble opinion, could pull that off while also coming in with the knowledge and experience to do the role. I have decently high hopes at this point.
He isnt alone though as Liberal returnee Stephen Fuhr also comes back into the fray.
Fuhr had previously been a member of parliment from 2015-2019 where he chaired the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence for most of his tenure.
He isnt new to the political scene nor is he inexperienced on the National Defence portfolio. I wholeheartedly believe that if he had won in 2019 that he would have inevitably ended up as Minister of National Defence at some point.
Fuhr is about as close to a top candidate as I could think of. He served twenty years in the RCAF including as a flight instructor for the CT-114, Flight Commander at the Canadian Forces Instrument Check Pilot School in Winnipeg, and fleet manager for the CF-18 fleet before retiring with the rank of Major.
From there on he worked in the Commerical aviation and defence industry, including as CEO of SkyTrac Systems before running for the first time in 2015.
Its quite the impressive portfolio for an MP to have which is why I immediately pegged him as one of Bill Blairs top replacements as soon as he was reelected. I have zero doubt that he will one day end up in the role.
For now though he will be tasked with overhauling Canada's procurement system, a monumental task that I wouldn't wish on anyone but of all the people I believe he has the best shot at making it work.
Of course I would be lacking if I didnt bring up what Fuhr was best known for by many - his intense dislike of the F-35.
It was one of the major reasons why he jumped from the Conservatives to the Liberals back in 2014. You can easily find many of his op-ed from the time decrying the F-35 as a waste.
I dont know if his opinions have changed, nor do I think he would sabatoge the program. It is something though I feel I should bring up given the recent controversy surrounding it and the forthcoming review.
ANYWAYS McGuinty and Fuhr have experience working with each other during their overlapping time as Committee chairs, are both well established, and knowledgeable on the defence portfolio.
I was not fully set on every Minister to be annlunced today. I have my issues. This is far from one of them. I think that this is probably the best the Liberals have to offer up on Defence, and the combo of McGuinty+Fuhr is an absolute beat of a combination.
I give credit where it is due, and Carney deserves credit for hunting the best he has and giving them the opportunity. I am also happy to see Defence Procurement being seen as substantial enough to warrant its own secretary.
Compared to Blair I couldnt ask for more here. I am happy and satisfied. While we cant know how well they will do and how much freedom they will be given, if the Liberals wanted to give me a hopeful hand, this would certainly be it.
So McGuinty a better choice than Annan? If so, why?
So…….