Justin Trudeau quietly sets stage to possibly expand cabinet by as many as three ministers

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has quietly laid the groundwork to expand the size of his cabinet by as many as three ministers.

It’s a move the opposition said requires more explanation from the government about appropriate use of funds. Ministers earn about $250,000 a year and are allocated significant staff and other resources.

Legislation was tabled last week in the House of Commons that formalizes the pay scale, resource allocation, and status of Trudeau’s existing cabinet, arrangements that were made on an ad hoc basis when cabinet was sworn in last November.

But the legislation also contains a clause that allows for the expansion of cabinet by three as-yet-undertermined positions.

Government officials say the clause should not be taken as a sign of any pending cabinet changes but does allow for a reconfiguring or enlarging of cabinet should the need arise.

“It just provides some flexibility,” said Bardish Chagger who, as Government House Leader, is responsible for the legislation, known as C-24.

Trudeau has already lost one cabinet minister in first year — Nunavut MP Hunter Tootoo resigned the fisheries portfolio for personal reasons — and, like many prime ministers after their first year in office, Trudeau may decide to move a promising backbencher or two into cabinet in the new year or sooner.

The opposition, though, says the government should provide more details about any possible new positions.

“Parliamentarians have every right to know exactly what they’re voting on,” said Conservative MP Chris Warkentin.

A cabinet minister receives a bonus of $81,700 per year on top of their MP’s salary of $170,400 per year for a total of $252,100.

C-24 designates ministers of five portfolios — La Francophonie; Science; Small Business and Tourism; Sport and Persons with Disabilities; and Status of Women —  as full ministers where, under previous Liberal and Conservative governments, those portfolios had been  held by “junior ministers” or  ministers of state.

Historically, ministers of state did not attend full cabinet meetings, got fewer resources, and got a smaller pay bump to their MP’s salary.

But as one of Trudeau’s oft-stated goals to appoint a cabinet filled equally with men and women, he was forced last fall to turn what were previously “junior ministers” of Science, Small Business, and Status of Women — all of whom are women in the Trudeau cabinet — into full and equal cabinet ministers, getting paid the same and having the same rights at the cabinet table as their male colleagues.

C-24 amends other federal government financial administration legislation to make those changes permanent.

Warkentin also said the government should justify the extra pay, staff and resources now being allocated to portfolios that, historically, have not had them.

“They’ve bumped up every single minister that has been serving in the past in a different role. They’re now full-time ministers,” Warketin said. “I’m not sure the scope of the work has changed. I think the government should come clean as to what scope of work these ministers have taken on.”

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