MacKay Rumoured to Be Leaving Defence Post

As key military decisions loom, the defence minister has been linked to a job at a Bay Street law firm

Peter MacKay has reportedly been in talks with one of Canada’s biggest law firms, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, about taking a job there early next year. He’s denied the reports, but speculation continues to grow that he will follow Environment Minister Jim Prentice, who announced last week he was stepping down to take a position at CIBC. If MacKay is leaving, he’s doing so at a very inopportune time for the Harper government. Key decisions about the future of Canada’s Afghan mission, as well as the controversial purchase of F-35 fighter jets, have yet to be resolved, and MacKay’s ability to tackle these issues will only be impaired if the perception of him as a lame-duck minister continues to grow.