Goertzen named deputy premier, handed new department

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This article was published 07/01/2021 (1640 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Premier Brian Pallister ensured it was a happy new year for Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen, who was promoted to deputy premier in a Tuesday cabinet shuffle.

Goertzen was also named minister of a new department called legislative and public affairs. He will also continue as government house leader.

Goertzen previously served as health minister, then education minister in Pallister’s government. Both posts required him to initiate sweeping, and at times controversial, reforms that were key planks in Pallister’s legislative agenda.

In a release, Pallister said Goertzen “has served exceptionally in two major government portfolios for over four years and asked that he be given the chance to concentrate on a personal passion of his—the legislative assembly and connecting citizens with their government and legislature.”

Sporting a Winnipeg Blue Bombers face mask, Goertzen was one of nine ministers sworn in at a physically-distanced ceremony at the legislature.

The size of Pallister’s cabinet grew to 18 members. Six ministers are women.

Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler, who represents Springfield-Ritchot, and Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen, who represents Midland, were among eight cabinet members who retained their portfolios in Pallister’s first shake-up since October 2019.

The health portfolio was divided in two and handed to Winnipeg MLAs Heather Stefanson and Audrey Gordon.

Stefanson will oversee health and seniors’ care. Gordon, who is responsible for mental health, wellness, and recovery, is the first Black person appointed to cabinet.

“Mental health is every bit as important as physical health and will be an unfortunate legacy of this pandemic,” Pallister said in a release.

Goertzen’s ascension to deputy premier arrives 17 and a half years after his first electoral victory in June 2003.

The deputy premier attends functions, chairs meetings, and greets visiting diplomats in the premier’s stead.

In an interview, Goertzen called the appointment, which he learned of the day before, “a significant honour and not one that I take lightly.”

His time as house leader gave him “a clear understanding of how the government apparatus works, how the legislative apparatus works.”

“I was the deputy leader of our party when we were in Opposition for a few years, and so I have some understanding of the functional role when it comes to the legislature,” he said.

He described his new department as concerned with the interface between government and the public. That includes acts pertaining to freedom of information, elections, protocol, lobbying, “anything where the public taps into…the function of government.”

He’ll also oversee the 15-year, $150 million restoration of the legislative building and liaise with independent officers who report to the legislative assembly.

Goertzen will also chair a cabinet committee on regulatory accountability that reviews all bills and regulations before they’re presented in the assembly.

“That’s a very technical and legal process but one that I think is important and that I really enjoy,” he said.

The government’s EngageMB online portal, used in recent months to gather public input on everything from highway infrastructure improvements to public health order changes, will be another tool under his purview.

Overseeing the nuts and bolts of governance is a markedly different task than implementing comprehensive changes to the delivery of health-care and education.

“There’s no question that health reform and education reform (are) significant undertakings with very large enterprises, (with a) huge degree of public interest,” Goertzen said.

“Those are highly emotional roles, both clearly in health and to a lesser degree in education because everybody has a strong view of those things.”

“This won’t be of that scale. This is more about, how do we find more creative ways to both connect people into government but then also ensure that government is running well.”

“It’s not a transformation role as much as it is trying to manage government in the best way possible.”

Goertzen hands the education file to Cliff Cullen, who was shuffled out of his post as justice minister and attorney general.

Goertzen reflected on an unusual last 10 months as education minister.

“The last year I spent doing things that wouldn’t have been traditional in education. It almost became very much a health role again.”

The arrival of the pandemic forced him to shelve a highly anticipated report containing recommendations for reforming K-12 education in Manitoba.

“All the focus changed. We were so focused on the K-12 commission and bettering outcomes for students, and suddenly that focus became about, how do we keep the school system running, and how do you run a school system in a pandemic, and how do you keep people safe while trying to educate them.”

Goertzen said it’s better to switch education ministers now than midway through the transformation process.

Pallister has equivocated about when he’ll retire, but Goertzen wouldn’t say if he aspires to lead the Progressive Conservative party.

“My role is to give the best advice that I can to the premier…I’m fully focused on that and not looking at anything else.”

As he gets acquainted with his new responsibilities, Goertzen said constituent concerns continue to be important to him.

“The one that I feel is my favourite job is being the MLA for Steinbach.”