Trudeau’s Throne Speech Makes Legalization A Priority

Trudeau’s promise to launch a process that would lead to the legalization and regulation of marijuana contributed to the Liberal Party’s victory in the October 19 general election.

It promised a new spirit of civility in Parliament, in which all members – on the government and opposition benches – will be “honoured, respected and heard”.

In his address, Trudeau also pledged to increase spending on public transit and to reform Canada’s “first-past-the-post voting system”, which now allots seats in parliament based on hundreds of district elections, conceivably allowing a party to win a majority of the votes while still falling short of a majority in the legislature. For instance, the speech does not repeat the campaign pledge to keep the size of annual deficits below $10-billion a year.

The throne speech will also touch on the Liberals’ promise to raise taxes on Canada’s biggest breadwinners, while easing the burden on middle-income earnings.

Benefits: The government says it will move ahead with plans to “enhance” the Canada Pension Plan, which will involve negotiations with the provinces.

In a statement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the agenda was developed by “listening” to Canadians.

The Liberals also promised to “renew” Canada’s commitment to “United Nations peacekeeping operations, and will continue to work with its allies in the fight against terrorism”. Among other measures, this will include implementing the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and launching an inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginals and girls.

Several new Canadians, including Syrian refugees, and local high school students, greeted Johnston and Trudeau as they walked to the Senate.

“The energy sector just in Alberta has seen 60,000 job losses”, Ambrose said.

“Also notable are the things the government will not do: it will not use government ads for partisan purposes; it will not interfere with the work of parliamentary officers; and it will not resort to devices like prorogation and omnibus bills to avoid scrutiny”. “So it’s easy to make these promises; our question is ‘how are they going to pay for it all?'”

Mulcair also said that he was “shocked” that there was not a “single reference” to childcare in the throne speech.