New secretary for N.L. ag minister

St. John’s-area MHA Kathy Dunderdale was re-appointed Tuesday as Newfoundland and Labrador’s minister responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency and natural resources after the Oct. 9 provincial election.

Premier Danny Williams on Tuesday also appointed a new parliamentary secretary to Dunderdale for the forestry and agrifoods file. Harry Harding, the member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for Bonavista North since 2002, was most recently the parliamentary secretary to the minister of fisheries and aquaculture, and previously held the same title in the human resources portfolio.

Harding, a resident of Badger’s Quay, has previously worked as a town clerk in that area, as a teacher and in the fish processing industry.

Dunderdale, the MHA for Virginia Waters, has worked in community development, communications, fisheries and social work and was previously president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Municipalities and a provincial Tory party president. Her previous cabinet appointments have included responsibility for rural development and the Rural Secretariat.

Cabinet ministers were to be sworn in Tuesday morning, the province said in a release.