MP Patty Hajdu ‘honoured’ to remain as Minister of Indigenous Services after cabinet shuffle | CBC News

Thunder Bay-Superior North MP Patty Hajdu said she’s “honoured” to keep her position as Minister of Indigenous Services following Wednesday’s cabinet shuffle.

“It means a lot to me that the prime minister continues to have confidence in me to be able to handle, I would say, a very important file in the agenda on reconciliation,” said Hajdu, who also remains the minister in charge of FedNor. “I think the prime minister’s choice to leave me in this file reflects the fact that he understands that a lot of the work with Indigenous peoples is about trust and relationships.”

“So I will continue to do this work, and I’m honoured to continue to have the opportunity to do it,” she said.

Hajdu was first named Minister of Indigenous Services in 2021. Prior to that, she was minister of health, minister of employment, workforce development, and labour, and minister of status of women in the Trudeau government.

She said she has a few priorities going forward.

“We’re hopefully going to conclude the compensation for [a] portion of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal settlement on child welfare,” she told CBC News on Wednesday. “I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to introduce water legislation for stronger rights to clean water on First Nations, including the ability to better protect source water, and working with First Nations and Indigenous partners on Indigenous self-determination in health legislation.”

“So there’s a lot going on, as well as the day-to-day work of ensuring communities have what they need to create healthy communities,” she said.

Hajdu is one of eight ministers who kept their portfolios in Wednesday’s shuffle.

Meanwhile, seven MPs were dropped from cabinet, seven were promoted into cabinet roles, and 20 cabinet ministers were shifted to other portfolios.