A Conservative caucus meeting being held in P.E.I. has wrapped up early, but not before Prime Minister Stephen Harper put his ministers on notice that a cabinet shuffle may be in the works.
Jane Taber, co-host of CTV's Question Period, said there were signs at the meeting that Harper is planning to make some changes later this month, and wants his MPs to stay close to home.
Earlier, cabinet ministers were told not to leave the country after Aug. 27, but that date has been moved up to Aug. 13, Taber told CTV's Canada AM on Friday from Charlottetown.
Harper didn't confirm he is considering a cabinet shuffle, but didn't rule it out as an option when speaking to reporters on Thursday.
"Obviously, we'll have to make a decision on that before we reach the fall session, one way or the other,'' Harper said in response to a question about cabinet changes.
"And you can anticipate we'll make our decisions on that, one way or another, fairly shortly.''
Taber said that's the clearest hint yet that Harper may be considering some changes.
"I've never heard him be so expansive when he was answering a question about a cabinet shuffle," Taber said.
There have been rumours for months that Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor could be transferred out of the weighty portfolio.
O'Connor has stirred controversy with his comments about the treatment of suspected Taliban detainees in Afghan prisons and funding for the funerals of military personnel. If he is shifted, others are likely to move as well.
"When you shuffle a senior minister such as himself, this creates a domino effect. We're hearing this cabinet shuffle could be as big as half of Mr. Harper's 31-member cabinet," Taber said.
"We're hearing Maxime Bernier, industry minister; Vic Toews, treasury board; Stockwell Day, public safety minister -- and he's the one people they are thinking could move into defence."
The caucus meeting -- the first since Parliament broke in June, was supposed to wrap up Friday morning with a final meeting, but ministers were sent home early for the long weekend.
On Thursday, journalists were caught by surprise when they were told by the RCMP that the Delta hotel where the meetings were taking place, was suddenly off limits.
RCMP officers told Taber they were acting on orders from the Prime Minister's Office when they evicted reporters from the property in order to ensure privacy at the meetings.
"We were kicked out, then when I came back in to use the washroom, I was followed out by a little Delta hotel employee just to make sure that I got out," Taber said.
"It was unbelievable -- at a caucus meeting retreat such as this -- that we would not be allowed to stand in a hotel lobby and talk to MPs and cabinet ministers. The Tories are very suspicious of us."
Harper is headed to Moncton, N.B. Friday morning for round-table meetings, before heading to Nova Scotia for a barbecue in Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay's riding.
MacKay will be defending his seat against Green Party Leader Elizabeth May in the next election.
