… why not cast a curious eye on the other changings of the guard underway over at PMO?
After all, it’s been a while since the last update on the Giornoverse.
First and foremost, ITQ is saddened to report the demise of the once … well, not all-mighty, but reasonably-mighty-under-the-circumstances office of Strategic Initiatives and Public Liaison. A relatively recent addition to the Giornorganizational chart, SI-PL, as it was known amongst its wide circle of friends and admirers, operated under the experienced and watchful stewardship of erstwhile PMO policy director Mark Cameron, who departed Langevin for parts as yet unknown a few weeks prior.
Luckily for his former staff, the office has apparently been resurrected, with a newly minted director — Andrew Wallace, also formerly at Policy, and a bold new moniker; ITQ sends her best wishes for a long and happy life to the office of Stakeholder Relations.
Also recently struck from the GEDS list: Strategic Communications, once the realm of long-serving prime ministerial press secretary Carolyn Stewart Olson, who headed off to the Other Place last month, leaving her team — which included several veterans of the Muttartian special forces — to be absorbed into Communication – still no S, but apparently now enriched with even more strategic wisdom. ITQ is sure they’re just happy to be together again, especially under the wise tutelage of John Williamson, AKA The New Kory Teneycke.
Meanwhile, Dimitri Soudas has shed not only his deputy title — he’s now referred to simply as ‘press secretary’ with no qualifier — but also his position as senior advisor (Quebec). In exchange, he picked up a new designation, and is now to be styled associate director, communication — and no, there won’t be a test on any of this. The new Quebec advisor? That would be Marc-Andre Plouffe, who was — and, for all ITQ knows may still be — the prime minister’s French speechwriter, and apparently, the man on whose shoulders the fate of the government’s ten Quebec seats now rests. But hey, no pressure.
Over at Issues Management, Jasmine Igneski has officially taken over the directorship previously held — with two iron fists — by Jenni Byrne, who is now in charge of political operations over at Conservative Party headquarters. In the wake of Byrne’s ascension, however, the IM office itself has lost considerable clout, at least on paper: Regional Affairs has been handed off to deputy chief of staff Darrel Reid, and yes, ITQ did have to click on every single link to figure that out. She was sure it would end up in the barracks next to the Advertising and Marketing Unit under the ever-vigilant eye of the Chief of Staff.
And finally, to end on a happier note: Guess who now has his very own office in PMO? Pierre Poilievre, that’s who. No, ITQ doesn’t know quite what to make of that either, but she’s sure he’s tickled pink — and at least this means he’ll have somewhere other than the lobby to hang out while he’s waiting for his new talking points.
So, is that it? Did ITQ miss any critical changes? If so, let her know in the comments. Otherwise, have a great weekend, y’all!
