The Canadian Press
Joan Bryden
Joanna Smith
OTTAWA–Judy Foote resigned from the federal cabinet today and announced she’ll step down as a Liberal MP shortly after Parliament resumes next month.
The Newfoundland and Labrador MP has been on an indefinite leave of absence from the Public Works and Government Services Department since April due to family health issues.
The two-time breast cancer survivor revealed today that she inherited the cancer-causing BRCA2 gene and that testing has shown she’s passed it on to her children.
Foote has two adult daughters and a son.
“What the BRCA2 gene means is that you are susceptible to any number of cancers and when it hits your children, it’s a totally different ball game,” an emotional Foote told a news conference in St. John’s, surrounded by her husband, her children, and four grandchildren.
While she currently is “cancer free” and her children are well, Foote said the ongoing risk to their health “puts things in perspective.”
She said her family always has been supportive during her 28 years in politics–11 as a provincial MLA, nine as an MP–and has never suggested “that I should give up the jobs that I love, the life that I love.”
“But you know, more than the jobs and the life, I love my family. . . .
“It’s my decision to be with them, where I need to be and where they need me to be,” she added.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is not expected to immediately name a replacement for Foote, whose portfolio has been overseen on an interim basis by Natural Resources minister Jim Carr.
Public Works is one of the most onerous cabinet posts, with a huge array of responsibilities, including resolving the fiasco over the Phoenix pay system, which has resulted in public servants being overpaid, underpaid, or not paid at all.
Insiders say the job will go to an experienced minister, necessitating a small shuffle of the current cabinet lineup.
As well, Trudeau is expected to award rookie Liberal MP Seamus O’Regan with a junior cabinet post in order to ensure Newfoundland and Labrador retains its representation around the cabinet table.
O’Regan is a personal friend of Trudeau’s.
He and his partner were among the friends who accompanied Trudeau on a controversial family vacation last Christmas to the private Bahamian island owned by the Aga Khan, a billionaire philanthropist and spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims.
The previous Christmas, O’Regan spent the holidays in a “wellness centre” where he received treatment for alcoholism.
The former host of CTV’s Canada AM openly has discussed his struggles with alcoholism and mental illness.
Insiders say Trudeau also may appoint a new female MP to cabinet in order to retain gender parity among his ministers.
