Robillard takes over Industry portfolio

Canadian plastics manufacturers have a new politician to lobby for their interests, following Prime Minister Paul Martin’s appointment of Lucienne Robillard as Minister of Industry.
Robillard moved to the crucial Industry portfolio from her previous post as president of Treasury Board. Former Industry Minister Allan Rock was named Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations in New York.
Robillard had little to say on specific issues in her first meeting with the press, saying she’ll know more about her portfolio when she meets with representatives from her department in the coming days.
She said she is “very happy” to remain in cabinet. “It’s a key ministry for Paul Martin,” she said in French.
When asked how she feels about lifting restrictions on foreign investment in Canadian industry, she replied in English, “That’s premature for me. Don’t ask me to commit myself on something specific.”
Robillard, from Montreal, has been an MP since 1995 and has served in cabinet ever since, first as minister of labour, then as minister of citizenship and immigration, and most recently as president of the Treasury Board.