THUNDER BAY – Patty Hajdu will learn her cabinet fate on Oct. 26.
Hajdu, who served as health minister throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, earlier this week said she’ll serve the government in whatever capacity she asked to by Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, inside or outside of cabinet.
Hajdu, 54, has been a part of the Trudeau cabinet since 2015, shortly after the government came to power.
She served as minister of status of women from November 2015 to January 2017, then as minister of employment, workplace development and labour from January 2017 to November 2019, when she took over the health portfolio, just months before the pandemic began.
It’s unclear at this point if Hajdu will be tapped to continue as the minister of health.
“I have been in cabinet for six years and I’ve held a variety of roles ... I think what that demonstrates to the prime minister, hopefully, is that I’m flexible and that I’m interested in a lot of different kinds of public policy development,” Hajdu said.
“I always consider this the honour of my lifetime to be asked by the prime minister to serve his cabinet, my country, our region in such a way. So I’ll wait and stay tuned to see what the prime minister has in mind for me,” Hajdu said.
The Thunder Bay-Superior North MP made a case for sticking with the health portfolio, as the pandemic continues.
“Obviously I know a lot about COVID-19, having been the minister since the beginning of the day. But there are many other areas I know I could serve, in cabinet or outside of cabinet. I will serve at the pleasure of the prime minister.”
The continuity does help, she added.
“I will say the experience of being the minister of health in a global pandemic like this is a unique one and it is a rare one. In fact, many of my international colleagues didn’t make it through the first, never mind as long as I have, because it’s hard and because it’s difficult and there are many, many difficult decisions to be made, sometimes with very little previous experience,” Hajdu said.
Hajdu and her colleagues have faced criticism of the government’s response during the pandemic, including the speed at which they closed the border, a shortage of personal protective equipment supplies and the initial vaccine roll-out.
She acknowledged there are plenty of MPs in government who have plenty of first-hand knowledge of Canada’s COVID-19 response and a lot of new faces elected.
“I know, for example, there are other people with medical backgrounds and public health background. So the prime minister will have no shortage of people to choose from in terms of how he chooses to see this file move forward,” Hajdu said.
Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP Marcus Powlowski, for example, is a primary care physician, though it’s not widely expected the outspoken politician is being considered for the role.
The Toronto Star is reporting at least one high-profile Liberal cabinet minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, will retain her posts.
The House of Commons is expected to resume on Nov. 22.
