Cabinet shuffle timing in flux after Quebec train tragedy

Stephen Harper's summer schedule for major political moves appears to have been thwarted yet again by an unforeseen catastrophe.

Conservative sources say a major cabinet shuffle that was initially pencilled in for mid-week has been pushed back, likely to next week, following the rail tragedy in Lac-Megantic, Que., which killed at least 15 people.

The Prime Minister's Office refuses to say when the shuffle will take place.

A freight train laden with crude oil derailed in the centre of town and exploded into a series of towering fireballs, obliterating a huge swath of the town's core, including a popular watering hole.

Transport Minister Denis Lebel and Industry Minister Christian Paradis, whose riding encompasses Lac-Megantic, have both been on the scene in recent days.

It's the second time Conservative plans have been thwarted recently by outside forces: the party's policy convention was postponed in June following floods in southern Alberta.