The throne speech is a ‘vision statement’ of high priorities that need results delivered as soon as possible, says a government official

OTTAWA: Justin Trudeau’s third term begins in reactive mode.

Now, the devastating British Columbia floods will cost hundreds of millions to mitigate and threaten to further weaken supply chains already disrupted by COVID, and pipeline protests reminiscent of the winter of 2020 when train blockades paralyzed transportation of passengers and railways in eastern Canada.

Add another protectionist president of the United States, Joe Biden and his Buy American agenda, and the stage seems set for the federal government to fight again to control its direction, much less to be proactive.

The liberal prime minister’s first two terms were dominated by events, the election of Donald Trump and a global pandemic, that forced Trudeau to respond.

The difference is that this time the prime minister has drawn a key lesson from the response to the pandemic.

And his conclusion, that the government can do great things quickly when it wants, will underline everything you hear in Tuesday’s speech from the throne.

A roadmap for the 44th Parliament, Governor General Mary Simon’s speech on the throne will strike an urgent chord and call on all parties to act quickly.

“It is the vision statement of what are the big priorities that parliament needs to deliver results as quickly as possible,” said a senior government official.

However, after a five-month parliamentary hiatus, Trudeau may find opposition less, not more cooperative.

Despite unfounded rumors that the Liberals and the NDP have been negotiating to ensure that the new Democrats will back the government’s measures, the NDP flatly denies this.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh says he is “open” to working with the Liberals, but has not offered any guaranteed support.

On the government side, an insider who spoke only in the background said that the throne speech and its measures have not been negotiated or anticipated elsewhere.

Trudeau met with party leaders after the elections to sound out his priorities, but in speeches since then, even on the eve of the throne speech, the prime minister left no doubt that he believes voters gave him a mandate. Sure.

“In September, Canadians elected a Parliament that would work together to do great things, leave this pandemic behind, build a resilient economy and good middle-class jobs, fight climate change and continue to walk the path of reconciliation, – Trudeau said.

Trudeau predicted moments of heated debate, but added: “This is a historic moment of change and opportunity for our country.”

Insiders say that this speech on the throne is shorter than the last two. But a senior official said that very few things should surprise anyone.

It describes what the Liberals campaigned on, broadly grouped into measures to end the pandemic, economic plans, and social and justice actions, including gun violence, public safety, and reconciliation.

The Trudeau administration has promised to pass a series of bills by February 3, the 100-day mark after the new cabinet takes office.

Liberals want parliament to quickly legislate extended but more limited benefits for the neediest sectors such as tourism, travel and hospitality; protections against harassment for healthcare workers; a guarantee of 10 paid sick days for federally regulated workers; a ban on conversion therapy intended to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity; and stricter regulations from the web giants.

The government’s broader economic plans will see him propose measures to cool down Canada’s housing market and make housing more affordable and accessible, and a push to finalize child care deals with the latter two provinces (Ontario and New Brunswick) and two territories (Nunavut and Northwest Territories) that have not yet been registered.

“Those are the central pillars of our economic plan and that will address the affordability situation,” the official said.

“We want to use the same energy, speed and agility that the government was able to use during the pandemic and apply it to those other things.”

However, there is no question that the flooding that inundated roads, bridges and wide swaths of farmland near Abbotsford, BC, has caught the government’s attention and several departments are “focused on the urgent needs on the ground.”

“We are still in that scenario of response to the crisis,” said the official.

At the same time, it has focused Canada’s attention on a series of commitments against climate change that the Trudeau government has made, so the throne speech will promise broader and faster climate action.

“People voted for these things. The people voted for a plan that we campaigned on and the speech from the throne will be about that mandate that the people gave the parliamentarians to fulfill, ”said the official.

There were signs on Monday that the 44th parliament will not be so friendly and eager to follow the liberals’ lead.

Conservative leader Erin O’Toole told the Commons that the Official Opposition is prepared to challenge the government and urged the new president to make sure opposing voices are heard.

“Whether it be families in Abbotsford now worrying about their future … whether it is new Afghan interpreters who are welcomed into communities after the efforts of veterans and non-profit organizations across this country or whether it is about small business owners concerned about the future, us as a Parliament, on all sides, regardless of the political fringe, no matter where we come from to be here in Ottawa, all Canadians deserve a voice in this chamber. “

Interestingly, moments later, the Conservatives refused consent to allow either of the two Green Party MPs to address the camera on the first day, a gesture long-time Green MP Elizabeth May called “petty and improper.”

Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in an interview that he did not know what would be in the speech, but pointed to climate change and reconciliation as priorities in the coming years.

“For me, it’s all about the economy, there is a generational opportunity where we transform our climate goals into jobs, growth, prosperity for all Canadians,” said Champagne.

Marci Ien, minister for women, gender equality and youth, said in an interview that the message of the throne speech will acknowledge the cost of the pandemic and say “we are here, we will continue to be here, it is not over, we are fighting but Thank you for persevering, I hope that is there, I hope that the reconciliation is also part of the speech from the throne. “

When asked if the revived pipeline protests and police actions in the Wet’suwet’en territory threaten to derail that reconciliation agenda, as they almost did in early 2020 before the pandemic, Ien said: “I don’t see Derail it, no I think there is a lot of work to do and I think we are committed to doing it. “