Ont. MP named ag secretary in shuffle

Eastern Ontario MP Guy Lauzon has been named to the post of Parliamentary secretary to the minister of agriculture and agri-food, Gerry Ritz.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the announcement today amid a shuffle of secretary assignments. Parliamentary secretaries are members of Parliament who assist the sitting minister in his or her portfolio.

Lauzon is also named the secretary for the federal economic development initiative for northern Ontario.

An MP since 2004, Lauzon worked for 22 years for the federal department of human resources and previously worked as a salesman and entrepreneur. He was also previously a general manager for Tri-County Protein Corp., a soybean processing company at Winchester, Ont.

As an MP, Lauzon was previously deputy government whip, and in opposition was the critic for Treasury Board and official languages.

David Anderson, a southwestern Saskatchewan MP and a well-known critic of the Canadian Wheat Board, keeps his post as Parliamentary secretary for the CWB, a post he’d held under the previous minister, Chuck Strahl. Anderson also becomes the secretary to the minister of natural resources, currently B.C. MP Gary Lunn.