Defence Dept. braces for MacKay's ouster, other upheaval

OTTAWA The Defence Department might be on the verge of its most sweeping change in two decades, with the top four jobs possibly switching hands by the fall.

There is widespread speculation that Central Nova MP Peter MacKay will lose his job as defence minister in a federal cabinet shuffle expected next month.

Internal reports are that staff are already bracing for the move.

MacKay has had the job for almost five years, which is a long time in defence minister terms. If he holds on until late July, he will pass Art Eggleton as the longest-serving defence minister in Canadian history.

Eggleton served from 1997 to 2002 before Jean Chretien dumped him for handing an untendered contract to an ex-girlfriend. In contrast, MacKay is expected to move to another high-profile portfolio such as justice or foreign affairs.

MacKay is an avid champion of the Armed Forces but has had a stormy year. Much of it has been personal.

In the fall, internal emails contradicted his story that he was witnessing a demonstration when a search and rescue helicopter picked him up from a vacation at a fishing lodge.

But Prime Minister Stephen Harper takes great care to avoid the appearance of punishing his ministers, says Scott Taylor, a longtime military analyst and editor of Esprit de Corps magazine.

The controversy is probably whats keeping him in the post for the moment, Taylor said of MacKay.

Its kind of crazy, but they need to calm the waters enough to put him in a boat.

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Defence Dept. braces for MacKay's ouster, other upheaval