St. John's East NDP MP Jack Harris has been given a key critic role as the House of Commons prepares to open next week.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced his shadow cabinet Thursday, giving Harris the critic role for foreign affairs, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, public safety and emergency preparedness.

Singh has assigned himself two portfolios that are expected to loom large in the upcoming Parliamentary session: intergovernmental affairs and Indigenous issues.

Harris, the only non-Liberal MP in Newfoundland and Labrador, won his way back to Ottawa by defeating incumbent Nick Whalen, who had won the seat from Harris in the 2015 election.

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