Canada's Trudeau to shuffle cabinet

OTTAWA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is to shuffle his cabinet Monday to fill the vacancy left by the abrupt resignation of Jane Philpott as Treasury Board president earlier this month, according to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Vancouver Member of Parliament (MP) Joyce Murray is widely seen as a possible replacement for Philpott, said CBC.

Murray is a former provincial cabinet minister and has been parliamentary secretary to the Treasury Board president for several years.

Philpott resigned earlier this month, saying she had lost confidence in how the Trudeau government had responded to the SNC-Lavalin scandal, where former Attorney General and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould alleged she was politically pressured to help the Quebec company secure a special legal agreement over charges of bribery and fraud.

The incoming shuffle will be the third in three months for Trudeau following the domino effect as the result of a slew of resignations beginning with former Treasury Board President Scott Brison, Wilson-Raybould from her new post as veterans affairs minister and lastly Philpott.

Another option for replacing Philpott is Carla Qualtrough, the minister of Public Services and Procurement, who temporarily assumed Treasury Board responsibilities after her colleague's resignation, according to CBC.

Qualtrough has worked closely with the Treasury Board on a number of major files, including the quest for a permanent fix for the error-prone Phoenix public service pay system.

Canadian Treasury Board oversees accountability and ethics, financial, personnel and administrative management, approving regulations and cabinet orders. Its president oversees the management of the public purse and ensures that the government is well managed.