On a mission to fix health care, Jane Philpott is open to a return to politics
Philpott and Jody Wilson-Raybould were expelled from the Liberal caucus in 2019
Over five years after her expulsion from the Liberal caucus following the SNC-Lavalin scandal, former Liberal health minister Jane Philpott is leaving the possibility open for a return to politics.
In an interview set to air Saturday on CBC's The House, Philpott was asked about her future in politics.
"If a door ever opened that was the right one, that would allow me to go back into a political role, I would certainly consider it," Philpott told host Catherine Cullen.
During the interview, where she discussed her new book, Health For All, Philpott revealed she will not seek another term as dean of health sciences at Queen's University when her current term ends next June. She expressed a desire to continue being involved in health policy.
"It's possible that might involve a role in government someday, but I'm still exploring what that might look like," she said.
Philpott was elected as the MP for Markham-Stouffville in 2015 and served as health minister before moving to the Indigenous services portfolio in a cabinet shuffle in 2017.
She criticized the government's handling of the SNC-Lavalin affair and resigned from her cabinet position in March 2019. A month later, she was expelled from the Liberal caucus along with fellow minister Jody Wilson-Raybould. Wilson-Raybould, a close ally of Philpott, had testified before a Commons committee in 2019 that she faced inappropriate pressure from 11 officials in the Prime Minister’s Office and other government offices to override a decision to prosecute SNC-Lavalin over bribery charges related to Libyan contracts.
Philpott ran as an independent candidate in the 2019 federal election but was defeated by new Liberal candidate Helena Jaczek.
In her conversation with The House, Philpott acknowledged that politics is influenced by various factors, including timing, and she did not want to completely rule out a return.
She is also scheduled to speak at the Ontario Liberal caucus conference in London, Ont., in September.
Health For All examines Canada's primary care system and the impact of politics on health policy. Reflecting on her tenure as federal health minister, Philpott highlighted achievements in drug policy and medical assistance in dying.
"If I were there again, I wish I could have moved on and continued work on access to primary care, which is my greatest passion," she said.
"You can't ever act fast enough to solve all of the problems... And I was not able to accomplish all the things that I would have liked to."
