Peterborough-Kawartha MP and Minister of Status of Women and Minister of International Development Maryam Monsef says she has no plans to leave the federal cabinet despite the resignation of Jane Philpott on Monday.
“I will absolutely stay in cabinet,” Monsef said. “As long as the prime minister has confidence in me, I will stay focused on the work I’ve been sent there to do.”
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Monsef spoke to reporters on Tuesday after making a funding announcement at YWCA Peterborough Haliburton.
“I have full confidence in the prime minister and full confidence in the plan our government is actively working on,” Monsef added.
Philpott joined former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould in resigning from cabinet amid allegations the Prime Minister’s Office asked Wilson-Raybould to secure an agreement to resolve the criminal case against Quebec engineering firm, SNC-Lavalin, which is facing fraud and corruption charges.
She resigned after facing questions from reporters on Monday about Trudeau’s handling of the affair.
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“I have been considering the events that have shaken the federal government in recent weeks and, after serious reflection, I have concluded that I must resign as a member of cabinet,” Philpott wrote in her letter to the prime minister.
“Jane Philpott is a strong and talented woman — a thoughtful woman whose expertise I valued around the cabinet table,” Monsef said. “I am disappointed to see her go.”
Monsef received the international development portfolio in Trudeau’s cabinet shuffle last Friday.