Takhar out, Cansfield in at MTO

QUEEN’S PARK, Ont. — The return of Greg Sorbara to the head of the Ontario Finance Ministry has forced a mini-cabinet shuffle, which includes Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar being bumped to a new post.

Former Energy Minister Donna Cansfield will replace Takhar, who will now oversee the newly created Ministry for Small Business and Entrepreneurship,

It is now up to Cansfield to make a decision on the controversial proposal by the Ontario Trucking Association to mandate speed limiters set at 105 km/h on all trucks in the province. The MTO began collecting comments from proponents and critics last fall and originally said it would rule on the proposal by January 2006, but to date no decision has been made.

Takhar, whose family owns automotive and off-road vehicle suspension manufacturer Chalmers Suspensions, has been mired in conflict on interest accusations for the last year when it was discovered that the minister was still involved in company activities.

Last June, the Toronto Sun reported that Takhar visited the Mississauga company for hours, speaking with employees and with the company CEO, who is also his wife. Takhar also failed to disclose that his riding association treasurer Joseph Jeyanayagam is his trustee at Chalmers and was also the company’s CFO.

This past January, Integrity Commissioner Coulter Osborne concluded Takhar was “egregiously reckless” when he broke the Members’ Integrity Act for not cutting ties to his former business after being elected to office.

Although Premier Dalton McGuinty previously said it would be appropriate for a minister to resign if rules were broken, he refused to remove Takhar after Osborne’s report was released.