Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has assigned a mandate to the first-ever Minister of Middle Class Prosperity, Mona Fortier.
The mandate letter for Fortier outlines the duties and scope of her cabinet position. A majority of the assigned duties for Fortier are related to her role as the Associate Minister of Finance and provides very little detail on what she will do as the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity.
According to the letter, Fortier will help the Minister of Finance, Bill Morneau, in preparing budgets, reviewing government spending and implementing new consumer protection measures.
“Work directly with the Minister of Finance in the preparation of Budgets and Fall Economic Statements, drawing on your experience as one of the leaders in our platform process and working with the Government Caucus, Opposition Members and the increasingly non-partisan Senate, as well as outside experts and stakeholders,” writes Trudeau.
When the new cabinet role was announced in November, many Canadians expressed confusion about what the minister’s exact duties would be.
As reported on by True North, even Fortier herself had a difficult time providing clear definitions during a CBC Radio interview aired on November 22. During the interview, Fortier repeatedly dodged questions about her role and the middle class.
When asked to define what she considered the middle class to be, Fortier said that it means you can send your kids to play hockey.
“I define the middle class where people feel they can afford their way of life, they have quality of life and they can send their kids to play hockey or even have different activities,” said Fortier.
