HANTS EAST: John MacDonell is a critic no more.
After the Hants East NDP MLA served as agriculture critic for the opposition NDP, MacDonell has switched roles and assumed the position of Minister of Agriculture after his party secured a majority government in the provincial election June 9. He also picked up the Natural Resources portfolio as well.
“I have two very interesting departments,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to getting started.”
Shortly after the election, Premier Darrell Dexter began selecting his cabinet, interviewing each of the 30 candidates before selecting a small cabinet of 12, including himself. MLAs were informed of their postings on June 19 and were sworn in that evening at a ceremony in Halifax.
MacDonell says it’s during that interview he felt confident about his postings.
“I had been critic for Natural Resources for seven years, from 1999...