Steve Erwin
The London Free Press
October 13, 2005

Ontario’s fall economic statement won’t be delayed, the province’s new finance minister said yesterday while acknowledging he’s got plenty to be briefed about in his new role.

"I have a lot to learn . . . but you know what? Onward and upward for us," Dwight Duncan told reporters when asked about his new position.

"It’s not under the best circumstances, but here we are."

Duncan was promoted to the critical finance portfolio after the sudden resignation Tuesday of Greg Sorbara.

Donna Cansfield joins cabinet for the first time, replacing Duncan as energy minister.

Duncan said plans for a fall economic statement, expected later this month or in early November, remain on target – even though he’s facing a steep learning curve in his new portfolio.

Duncan has degrees in commerce and economics – which will mean "absolutely nothing," he said, in tackling the new portfolio. He spent much of yesterday getting up to speed on key economic issues of the day.

Duncan was asked by a reporter whether he had any "skeletons" in his closet – a reference to the fact Sorbara’s name has been added to an RCMP search warrant as part of a fraud investigation involving his family’s firm.

"Not that I’m aware of," Duncan quipped. "There are some advantages to being poor in this business."

Critics will assess whether Duncan can get up to speed quickly on pressing economic issues and whether Cansfield can fill Duncan’s shoes in the challenging energy file.

One government official who asked not to be named noted Duncan "had one of the most difficult portfolios in the province" in Energy and is well-suited for Finance, where the annual deficit fell to $1.6 billion in the past year.

For Cansfield, the challenge could be much steeper, largely due to her cabinet inexperience at a time of heated debate about energy prices and future electricity supply.

Cansfield had been working as Duncan’s parliamentary assistant and took the lead on the so-called Conservation Action Team, developing long-term plans to meet energy conservation targets.

"I’m going to spend the next couple of weeks getting caught up in briefings," Cansfield said, adding she attended virtually all Duncan’s briefings on energy.

But Tom Adams of Energy Probe said the file is "in trouble" in that hydro rates are set to soar drastically.