Whos that arriving at Rideau Hall?
Emerson, a 60-year-old former banker, businessman and economist, was elected in the B.C. riding of Vancouver-Kingsway in 2004 and re-elected last month, both times as a Liberal. To the surprise of many, he showed up at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Monday morning to be sworn into the cabinet. In addition to his duties as trade minister, he will be responsible for the Vancouver Olympics. He said he hadn’t talked to former prime minister Paul Martin about the switch. “Nobody knew about this,” he told reporters. Emerson said he was “a small-c Liberal” even before changing parties and cast himself as a moderating force in the new cabinet. The Conservative Party “has been moving to the centre because of the checks and balances in Parliament,” he said, “and I think the fact that Mr. Harper has reached out to someone like me is an indication that they are becoming a middle-of-the-road party, and I think I can be helpful in moving in that direction.” Harper told reporters he was impressed with Emer
