OTTAWA, Dec10, 2003
CP)
Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal is quitting
politics - the second senior cabinet minister to resign
in the last week ahead of an impending demotion by
incoming prime minister Paul Martin.
Dhaliwal announced Wednesday that he will resign
from cabinet Dec. 12, his 51st birthday, and serve
as a backbench MP until the next federal election,
expected this spring. Martin is to announce his new
cabinet the same day, but Dhaliwal denied he's leaving
in a huff because there's no spot for him in that
cabinet.
"Being in or out of cabinet did not factor in
at the end of the day," he told a farewell news
conference.
He said he told Martin at least six months ago that
he did not want to run again and repeated that to
the Liberal leader two weeks ago. That pre-empted
any discussion of a cabinet post, he said, adding
that Martin remains a close friend.
Dhaliwal, who represents the riding of Vancouver
South-Burnaby, said he only ran in the last election
because Prime Minister Jean Chretien talked him into
it.
Now, after 10 years in Parliament and six in cabinet,
he said he wants to spend more time with his wife
and three children and also concentrate on running
his Vancouver-area businesses.
He said he gathered his family last weekend for a
talk on the future and they agreed it was time to
go.
"This was very much a family and personal decision
for me.
"It is definitely a day of mixed emotions for
me. I'm sad about leaving politics behind . . . but
I'm enthusiastic about returning to my business and
spending more time with my family."
Dhaliwal's news came five days after Finance Minister
John Manley, a onetime Martin rival for the Liberal
leadership, announced that he won't run again.
Dhaliwal had tense political relations with Martin
during the long-running Liberal leadership feud, remaining
fiercely loyal to Chretien. He publicly scolded Martin
once, accusing the incoming prime minister of fostering
disunity in the party.
Apart from the cabinet issue, Dhaliwal was also seen
to be in danger of losing his nomination battle under
a new open-nomination system promised by Martin.
During the runup to the leadership, Dhaliwal's riding
executive was taken over by a slate of Martin supporters
while Dhaliwal was out of the country.
He said he was "quite upset" about that
coup and complained to Martin.
"We resolved the issue," he said. "There
were some misunderstandings, some missed communications."
Dhaliwal is a self-made millionaire who came to Canada
from India at the age of six. He built a conglomerate
that includes a golf course, an industrial-cleaning
company, real-estate properties and a limousine service.
Those businesses are currently held in a blind trust.
He said he entered politics "to make a difference,"
and said he has.
As the first Sikh to reach cabinet rank, he said
he became a role model for other Indo-Canadians and
minorities in general.
Dhaliwal was first elected to the Commons in 1993
and made his debut in cabinet four years later in
the revenue portfolio, followed by a stint in fisheries.
He said he has no interest in provincial politics
and said a federal comeback is "highly unlikely."