Premier Kathleen Wynne says she is revamping her cabinet as the Liberals chart a course for victory in the next election, while rivals charge the move amounts to shuffling the deck chairs on a sinking ship.“I have a very strong team,” Wynne told reporters during a campaign-style visit to the new advanced cardiac care unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie on Wednesday.As disclosed by the Star, the retirement of top ministers Deb Matthews, Brad Duguid and Liz Sandals triggered the cabinet shuffle, which led to promotions for three backbench MPPs.Entering cabinet ahead of the June 7 election are Status of Women Minister Harinder Malhi (Brampton-Springdale), Natural Resources Minister Nathalie Des Rosiers (Ottawa-Vanier) and Tourism, Culture and Sport Minister Daiene Vernile (Kitchener-Centre).All are first-term MPPs who represent key ridings.“I want to make sure that we have that team that’s going to carry us into the election and beyond,” the premier said.Progressive Conservative Deputy Leader Steve Clark said she squandered an opportunity to shrink the size of her “bloated” 29-member executive council.“Wynne has made this cabinet the largest in the country, has the privilege of overseeing a record of scandal, mismanagement and waste and the largest debt of any province or state in the world,” said Clark.NDP House Leader Gilles Bisson said Wynne seemed to be more concerned about saving Liberal seats in Kitchener-Waterloo, Brampton and Ottawa than anything else.“Today’s game of musical chairs gives people no hope that Wynne is focused on fixing the things that matter most to Ontario families, things like the hospital overcrowding across the province, the crisis in long-term care or sky-high-and-soon-to-rise-again hydro prices,” said Bisson.“Instead, she’s focused on giving Liberal MPPs at risk of losing their seats a title to pad their MPP resumé before the election, ...
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