Throne speech launches Trudeau era in Parliament, recaps election promises

PRIME Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday in a statement issued after the delivery of the Speech from the Throne said that his government’s plan was developed by listening to Canadians and reflects their priorities, interests, and ambitions. Its contents will be scrutinized, however, in terms of the priority given to some promises, while other election pledges are not specifically mentioned.

It gave no details on whether it would stick to its campaign pledge to limit budget deficits to C$10 billion ($7.5 billion) a year.

There were also commitments to enhance the Canada Pension Plan and the Employment Insurance system, and to make postsecondary education more affordable. Founded in 1867, the CMA is a voluntary professional organization representing more than 80,000 of Canada’s physicians and comprising 12 provincial and territorial medical associations and 60 national medical organizations.

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Abroad, Canada will “strengthen its relationship with allies, especially with our closest friend and partner, the United States” while rolling out a “leaner, more agile, better- equipped military”, Trudeau’s government’s speech said.

Canada’s Liberal government, unveiling its plans at the start of the new Parliament, promised on Friday to pursue a fiscal plan “that is responsible, transparent and suited to challenging economic times”.

The government promised to deliver middle-class tax cuts pronto, and to scrap the Conservative’s universal child care benefit.

Indigenous peoples would also be more involved in reviewing and monitoring development projects relating to natural resource, including a number of designs to build new oil pipelines. “The trust Canadians have in public intuitions – including Parliament – has, at times, been compromised”.

On the former, Johnston re-iterated Trudeau’s words, that “2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system”.

The government promised to “support CBC/Radio-Canada, encourage and promote the use of Canada’s official languages, and invest in Canada’s cultural and creative industries”.

Conservative interim leader Rona Ambrose told CTV’s Power Play that she was struck by a “lack of economic focus” in the speech. “What’s missing in the Speech From the Throne is job creation, economy, role of the private sector, free trade, agriculture, forestry, energy sector, small businesses”.

“We hope we will find that balance of the urgency of the inquiry, but also the importance of getting it right”, she said.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair lauded the Liberals for announcing they would put an end to “monster” omnibus bills, and “partisan” advertising on the public dime.