Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland declined to say Tuesday whether she has received assurances from the Prime Minister that she will be staying in her cabinet post, despite having a series of in-depth meetings with Justin Trudeau over the last four days.
In her first news conference since The Globe and Mail reported last week about concerns by senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office about Ms. Freeland, she was careful not to say what would happen next.
“I just consider it a real privilege every day to do my best to serve Canada and Canadians,” Ms. Freeland said.
The Finance Minister, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, said she had a long conversation with Mr. Trudeau on Friday, spent much of Saturday with him at events in the Greater Toronto Area and also travelled to Ottawa on Monday to meet with him again.
She twice avoided answering whether she had received assurances from Mr. Trudeau, saying “he is really capable of speaking for himself.”
Freeland twice avoided answering whether she had received assurances from the Prime Minister, saying ‘he is really capable of speaking for himself’
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“To serve as minister in a cabinet, you do need the support and confidence of the Prime Minister, that is especially true for the deputy prime minister and finance minister,” Ms. Freeland said…
which says nothing about the current situation, which is almost an art form for Liberal Cabinet Ministers…being asked a question and making noises, that even forms words without answering the question.
“What I will say to everyone here, speaking for myself, is I do have the confidence that I need to do my job effectively.”…
but does she have the confidence of the Prime Minister? Oh wait…she didn’t answer that question.
On Thursday, the Globe and Mail reported that senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office are concerned by her effectiveness in the role and that relationship between the two offices has become tense. Oh well.