<p>Indian-origin Canadian politician Anita Anand was on Tuesday appointed as the country's new Defence Minister in a Cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, over a month after his Liberal Party returned power in the snap polls and amid calls for major military reforms.</p>.<p>Anand, 54, will replace long-time defence minister Indian-origin Harjit Sajjan, whose handling of the military sexual misconduct crisis has been under criticism.</p>.<p>Sajjan has been appointed as Minister of International Development Agency, a report in the National Post newspaper said.</p>.<p>The new Cabinet maintains gender balance and has 38 members, up one person from before the election, it said.</p>.<p>According to a report in Global News, Anand has been touted as a strong contender for weeks among defence industry experts who said that moving her into the role would send a powerful signal to survivors and victims of military sexual misconduct that the government is serious about implementing major reforms.</p>.<p>The Canadian military is facing intense public and political pressure to change its culture and create better systems for both preventing and handling sexual misconduct allegations, it said.</p>.<p>Anand has a deep background as a corporate lawyer and has worked extensively on corporate governance, which refers specifically to the laws and rules in place to manage the operations of businesses, the report said.</p>.<p>Anand, along with Sajjan and Bardish Chagger were the three Indo-Canadian ministers in the dissolved Cabinet who emerged victorious in the parliamentary polls last month.</p>.<p>Anand was declared the winner in Oakville with a nearly 46 per cent vote share; a significant development for Canada’s vaccine minister.</p>.<p>She was first elected as a rookie Member of Parliament in 2019 representing Oakville in Ontario province and served as procurement minister throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>.<p>She quickly became in charge of the country’s efforts to secure COVID-19 vaccines and was often on the campaign trail with Trudeau.</p>.<p>In her role as former Minister of Public Services and Procurement, she played a very public role in the Liberal response to the health crisis.</p>.<p>"I’m just ecstatic,” she had said after her win, thanking the volunteers who had worked “extremely hard as a team for five weeks straight,” she was quoted as saying by the Oakville News.</p>.<p><strong>Check out the latest DH videos:</strong></p>
<p>Indian-origin Canadian politician Anita Anand was on Tuesday appointed as the country's new Defence Minister in a Cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, over a month after his Liberal Party returned power in the snap polls and amid calls for major military reforms.</p>.<p>Anand, 54, will replace long-time defence minister Indian-origin Harjit Sajjan, whose handling of the military sexual misconduct crisis has been under criticism.</p>.<p>Sajjan has been appointed as Minister of International Development Agency, a report in the National Post newspaper said.</p>.<p>The new Cabinet maintains gender balance and has 38 members, up one person from before the election, it said.</p>.<p>According to a report in Global News, Anand has been touted as a strong contender for weeks among defence industry experts who said that moving her into the role would send a powerful signal to survivors and victims of military sexual misconduct that the government is serious about implementing major reforms.</p>.<p>The Canadian military is facing intense public and political pressure to change its culture and create better systems for both preventing and handling sexual misconduct allegations, it said.</p>.<p>Anand has a deep background as a corporate lawyer and has worked extensively on corporate governance, which refers specifically to the laws and rules in place to manage the operations of businesses, the report said.</p>.<p>Anand, along with Sajjan and Bardish Chagger were the three Indo-Canadian ministers in the dissolved Cabinet who emerged victorious in the parliamentary polls last month.</p>.<p>Anand was declared the winner in Oakville with a nearly 46 per cent vote share; a significant development for Canada’s vaccine minister.</p>.<p>She was first elected as a rookie Member of Parliament in 2019 representing Oakville in Ontario province and served as procurement minister throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>.<p>She quickly became in charge of the country’s efforts to secure COVID-19 vaccines and was often on the campaign trail with Trudeau.</p>.<p>In her role as former Minister of Public Services and Procurement, she played a very public role in the Liberal response to the health crisis.</p>.<p>"I’m just ecstatic,” she had said after her win, thanking the volunteers who had worked “extremely hard as a team for five weeks straight,” she was quoted as saying by the Oakville News.</p>.<p><strong>Check out the latest DH videos:</strong></p>