This move would appear to address some of the problems surrounding Michael Ignatieff’s first shadow cabinet:

OTTAWA – Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff today unveiled new roles for members of the Liberal caucus and announced his nominees for House committee chair positions.

The Honourable Ujjal Dosanjh (Vancouver South), former premier of British Columbia, will assume the role of Chair of a new Intergovernmental Liaison Secretariat and will be consulting with provincial premiers and territorial leaders on the best way forward to secure stability and fairness in our federation.

The Leader himself will serve as Intergovernmental Affairs Critic. Mr. Ignatieff also announced the appointment of the Honourable Irwin Cotler (Mount Royal) as Special Counsel on Human Rights & International Justice.

Various chair and committee positions were also announced – of note, the young Trudeau finds himself as co-chair of the outreach committee, which is fitting given the number of fundraisers he gets invited to speak at every year.

The Dosanjh and Cotler appointments do feel a bit like damage control but, either way, it’s a welcome move after the two were surprisingly left out of the first lineup of critics.