Throne speech is expected to be the same old promises

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will outline the agenda for his third Liberal term in a speech from the throne today.

The throne speech is expected to be brief and contain no surprises, recapitulating the issues raised on the liberal platform during the recent federal election campaign, which produced a second consecutive liberal minority.

The most novel aspect of the speech may turn out to be the person who delivers it: Mary Simon, the first indigenous person to serve as the Governor General of Canada.

Simon, an Inuk from Kuujjuaq in northeastern Quebec, will read the speech in the Senate chamber before an audience of dignitaries, senators, and a handful of MPs, a significantly smaller crowd than usual due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. .

The speech is expected to outline the broad outlines of a plan that liberals contend Canadians gave Parliament a mandate to follow: end the fight against COVID-19 and rebuild a more resilient, fairer and greener economy.

It will also reiterate what the government considers to be the key pillars of economic growth, including affordable housing, more aggressive action on climate change, and finalizing negotiations with provinces that resist a national child care system of $ 10 a day.

In addition, it is expected to reiterate the government’s commitments to make the country safer and more inclusive and to continue to seek indigenous reconciliation.

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Speeches from the throne rarely give much detail and this is not expected to be different. A more detailed plan will emerge later in the mandate letters Trudeau writes to each of his cabinet ministers, setting out their specific marching orders.

It promises to be a packed legislative agenda that begins in earnest on Wednesday.

And it is clear that the Liberals this time intend to move quickly on their priorities, despite their minority status, leaving them dependent on opposition parties to pass legislation and survive confidence votes.

Government House leader Mark Holland indicated Monday that he wants to pass four priority pieces of legislation before the House of Commons interrupts the holiday season on Dec. 17.

Those include:

– A renewed bill to make it a crime to force anyone to undergo so-called “conversion therapy” to alter their sexual orientation or gender identity.

– A bill to criminalize harassment or intimidation of health workers.

– A bill to implement promised and more targeted aid programs for those hardest hit by the pandemic, while reducing previous emergency benefits.

– A bill to provide 10 days of paid sick leave for federally regulated workers.

This Canadian Press report was first published on November 23, 2021.