Amid extensive reshuffling, Romano remains chief government whip

As many Ontario PC members are assuming new roles as a result of the cabinet shuffle announced Thursday, Sault Ste. Marie's member of provincial parliament will continue in his role as chief government whip.

Reached by phone on Friday, Sault MPP Ross Romano said, as part of his continued role as whip, he has been in contact with all of the new ministers and associate ministers after the shuffle. In June of 2022, Romano was named chief government whip and has held the position since.

The chief government whip has a number of duties in the legislature, including the assigning and scheduling of committees, responsibility for disciplinary measures toward members, responsibility for the assignment of seats in Queen's Park and assisting members in moving individual pieces of legislation, to name just a few.

In April, Romano announced he would be sidelined for several weeks due to a family emergency. During Friday's call, Romano noted that, while he was unable to travel back and forth to Toronto regularly due to the emergency, he has still been working remotely from the Sault on behalf of his constituents.

That work included the discussions that led to the May 29 announcement that the Group Health Centre in setting up a nurse practitioner-led clinic for the thousands of patients who were about to be de-rostered from the centre.

Romano said the family emergency has stabilized to some degree and he expects to return to Queen's Park when it resumes sitting on Oct. 21.

On Thursday, the Ontario PC government announced Premier Doug Ford has shuffled and expanded his cabinet to 36 members. Almost half of Ford’s cabinet are either new additions or fresh to their roles.

— with files from The Trillium