The Hill Times, February 12th, 2007
Jason Kenney’s staffers ‘living multiculturalism’
‘We have a Hindu, Christian, Muslim and a Budhist,’ says Tenzin Khangsar,
staff director to Mr. Kenney. ‘It’s a great example of the minister’s
commitment to his job.’
By Abbas Rana
The six newly-appointed secretaries of state have been busy lately hiring
the political staff for their offices and the office of Jason Kenney,
Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity, confirmed
last week that he has hired a mix of Buddhist, Christian, Muslim and Hindu
staffers.
Tenzin Khangsar, staff director to Mr. Kenney, in an interview said that
Secretary of State Kenney has hired four staffers. Besides Mr. Khangsar, the
three other political aides to Mr. Kenney include Chris Champion, senior
policy adviser for Canadian identity; Neil Desai, senior policy adviser for
multiculturalism and Alykhan Velshi, senior special assistant for foreign
policy and parliamentary affairs.
“We’re living multiculturalism in our team. We have a Hindu, Christian,
Muslim and a Budhist [staffer in our office]. There’s talk the talk and walk
the walk, we’re very proud about that…. It’s a great example of the
minister’s commitment to his job and I think it’s a very nice start to our
team,” said Mr. Khangsar, a former CBC TV sports broadcaster in Montreal. He
pointed out in the interview that Mr. Champion is of Christian faith, Mr.
Desai is of Hindu faith, Mr. Velshi is of Muslim faith and himself of
Buddhist faith.
Prior to starting his new job last month, Mr. Khangsar, who was born in
St-Hyacinthe, Que., and raised in Montreal, served as an assistant to Mr.
Kenney when he was Parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister. Before
that, he was the executive director of a human rights advocacy group called
the Canada Tibet Committee.
In briefly introducing the other staffers, Mr. Khangsar told The Hill Times
that Mr. Champion in the past worked in the Stephen Harper (Calgary
Southwest, Alta.) OLO along with Mark Cameron, then policy adviser to the
Leader of the Official Opposition. Mr. Cameron now holds the position of
director of policy and research in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Mr. Desai recently completed his master’s in political economy from the
London School of Economics in London, England, and Mr. Velshi is a lawyer by
training and has recently passed the New York Bar exams.
The top staffers in Cabinet ministers’ offices hold the title of chief of
staff but in a secretary of state’s office, the top staffer is given the
title of staff director. The job responsibilities of a staff director are
the same as that of a chief of staff in a Cabinet minister’s office.
As the staff director to the secretary of state for multiculturalism, Mr.
Khangsar is responsible for managing the staff and the budget. He also
advises Mr. Kenney on political issues as well as is required to plan and
implement strategies to fulfill the secretary of state’s mandate. Mr.
Khangsar liaises with the Prime Minister’s Office and other ministerial and
secretary of state offices on a regular basis to coordinate policy issues
related to Mr. Kenney’s mandate.
Meanwhile, Gerry Ritz (Battlefords-Lloydminster, Sask.), Secretary of State
for Small Business and Tourism, in a brief interview on the Hill, told The
Hill Times that he has hired three new staffers but his office was
unavailable for the names and job titles of the new staffers and their job
titles. But the government’s online staff directory of political staffers
indicate that James Scott holds the position of staff director, Stephany
Crowley is the policy adviser and Todd MacKay holds the position of
communications and Parliamentary assistant.
Prime Minister Harper named six new secretaries of state last month
including Mr. Kenney; Mr. Ritz; Helena Guergis (Simcoe-Grey, Ont.),
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Sport;
Christian Paradis (Mégantic-L’Érable, Que.), Secretary of State for
Agriculture; and Jay Hill (Prince George-Peace River, B.C.) Secretary of
State without portfolio and Chief Government Whip. Leader of the Government
in the Senate, Marjory LeBreton (Ontario), has also been given the
additional responsibilities of Secretary of State for Seniors.
The Hill Times – Canada’s Politics and Government Newsweekly
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