Nault confident of cabinet post in Martin government

With a new government at Queen’s Park and a soon-to-be new prime minister in Ottawa, it may seem as though you won’t be able to tell the players without a program.
But according to local MP Robert Nault, there should be at least one familiar face around next year.
The minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development reiterated his intention to seek a fifth-consecutive term in the next federal election—widely expected to be held next spring—when he was here last Wednesday to announce a new federal aboriginal business initiative.
“I will be running again in the next federal election in the Kenora riding,” said Nault. “We are gearing up and getting ready to go to the polls.”
Nault predicted the election call will come after April 1 when the new electoral boundaries come into effect. As such, he no longer will be representing Rainy River District.
“As you know, the ridings have been reconfigured so I will now be running out of my home community [Kenora],” he noted.
Rainy River District will become part of the new Thunder Bay-Rainy River riding.
Meanwhile, there’s been considerable speculation that the incoming prime minister, Paul Martin, will be making wholesale changes at the cabinet table—filling seats composed of people perceived to be loyal to him and his priorities while former cabinet ministers like Nault will be left out in the cold.
Nault dismisses such conclusions.
“I will tell you straight out, I expect to be a major player in the north, so I’ll be spending a lot of time in the Rainy River District because it is part of our region and we’re very much attached to each other,” he stressed.
Nault maintained Martin instead will select a cabinet made up of former experienced members as well as new faces.
“This perception that there’s going to be a brand-new cabinet with nobody of experience is far-fetched to the extreme,” he claimed. “History shows under Pearson, Trudeau, and Chrétien, there has always been continuity.”
Nault said he’s confident he can make a significant contribution to such a cabinet and believes Martin will recognize that.
“Do I think I have something to offer? If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be running,” he remarked. “I have a lot to offer and propose to go out and seek the support of the population for the fifth time.”