Ross Romano to be named chief government whip

Although Sault Ste. Marie's member of provincial parliament is no longer holding a cabinet position at Queen's Park, Ross Romano says he has been named chief government whip.

Romano most recently served as the province's Minister of Government and Consumer Services under the previous Ontario PC government. His name was noticeably absent when premier Doug Ford announced new cabinet ministers and parliamentary assistant positions in advance of next sitting of the legislature.

In a phone interview on Thursday, Romano said he has been asked to fill the position of chief government whip. Romano will replace Lorne Coe in the position, who will act as parliamentary assistant to the premier.

“Right now there is a bit of an internal debate as to whether I will have a busier schedule or a lighter schedule," said Romano. "I am really quite honoured that the premier has seen fit to have me do that position and I am happy to help because that’s how we are going to move forward on the next four years of getting it done."

The chief government whip has a number of duties in the legislature, including the assigning and scheduling of committees, responsible for disciplinary measures of members, responsible for the assignment of seats in Queen's Park and assisting members in moving individual pieces of legislation, to name just a few.

"When you look at having a caucus of 83 people that is a very large group of people to manage," said Romano.

One particular aspect of the role Romano is looking forward to will be helping the 28 new Ontario PC members to acclimatize to their new positions.

“They are going to need a lot of help with transition and to understand the process. At the end of the day, that falls on the chief government whip to be able to help those members through that and to work on corralling 83 members to be able to move forward our government’s agenda,” said Romano.

He admits it was a challenge when he was informed of the news he would not be returning as a minister, but said the more he heard about the chief government whip position, the more he knew he could step in and help.

“I am exceptionally excited about it," said Romano. 

Previous to his time in charge of Government and Consumer Services, Romano was the province's Minister of Colleges and Universities.

“Having gone through the process of being a cabinet minister and recognizing how few people in history have ever gotten to serve as cabinet ministers — just looking at the total number of MPPs ever elected in the history of Ontario is actually just over a couple of thousand and when you look at the total number of cabinet members, it’s only in the couple of hundreds," said Romano. "It’s such a privilege and an honour serving in that capacity."