TORONTO - Two ministers involved in this summer's biggest embarrassments for the Ontario Liberals were moved out of their jobs Wednesday in a cabinet shuffle that was more musical chairs than cleaning house.

No one was dropped from the enlarged cabinet and two new faces were added. But after weathering a rough summer of missteps and mea culpas, Premier Dalton McGuinty's message was clear: We need to get our act together.

"It's been said in days of old that after a ship had been tossed about on the open seas storm, you take advantage of the first clearing to read the stars, get your bearings and regain your course," he said.

"You might say we're doing that today."

Former environment minister John Gerretsen, who took the heat for the fiasco over eco fees, was demoted to Consumer Services, while Rick Bartolucci was punted to Municipal Affairs and Housing following the controversy over special police powers granted during the G20 summit.

Veteran Liberal Jim Bradley will swap jobs with Bartolucci, while former revenue minister John Wilkinson was promoted to Environment after pounding the pavement for months to promote the new harmonized sales tax.

Fresh from giving the government's blessing to mixed martial arts, ex-consumer services minister Sophia Aggelonitis took over Wilkinson's old post at Revenue, with an extra responsibility for seniors.

Margarett Best, the health promotion minister, also had new duties added Wednesday -- the Ministry of Health Promotion became the Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport.

McGuinty also added two recently elected Liberals to his team: former Ottawa mayor Bob Chiarelli and former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray, who joined the caucus earlier this year.

Murray will take over Research and Innovation from John Milloy, who already has Training, Colleges and Universities.

McGuinty split up the massive Ministry Energy and Infrastructure after merging them just two years ago. Chiarelli, a 69-year-old veteran politician, will take over Infrastructure, while current minister Brad Duguid will keep the Energy file -- an indication the governing Liberals are worried about looming hikes to electricity prices.

But the premier failed to switch Aboriginal Affairs back into a full-time job, which has irked First Nations.

They've also raised questions about whether it's appropriate for Attorney General Chris Bentley to manage the file, particularly if he's overseeing Crown lawyers responsible for prosecuting aboriginal protesters in court.

It's an insult to First Nations and goes against the recommendations of the Ipperwash inquiry into the 1995 fatal shooting of native protester Dudley George by a police sniper, the New Democrats charged.

"They talk about a conflict there and they refuse to make the logical separation of the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs," said NDP critic Rosario Marchese.

A cabinet shakeup was largely expected following a summer full of red faces. The Liberals were forced to retreat on the highly unpopular eco fees that were slapped on thousands of products on Canada Day, the same day the equally unpopular HST kicked in.

There was also widespread criticism of a so-called secret law governing police powers during the G20 summit, a damaging ombudsman's report about Ontario's much-maligned local health networks and a big cut in rates for solar energy projects that angered farmers.

The recent flip-flops on online gambling and mixed martial arts fights didn't help matters either.

McGuinty dodged questions about whether the G20 law and eco fees pushed him to move Bartolucci and Gerretsen to different departments, but praised Wilkinson for doing an "exceptional job" on the HST.

The shuffle was meant to take advantage of his "new acquisitions" -- Murray and Chiarelli -- and "redeploy" some of his cabinet ministers in a "better way," McGuinty said.

But instead of overhauling his cabinet, McGuinty opted for cosmetic changes that won't provide any relief for taxpayers, said Progressive Conservative Peter Shurman.

It's the seventh shuffle in 15 months and swelled cabinet to 28 members, which means more public money spent on ministerial salaries, he added.

"What he's doing for Ontario is acting like a speeding train -- going in the wrong direction," Shurman said.

"And the two new faces represent an additional opportunity to tax and spend."