Local reaction to Wednesday’s Throne Speech and subsequent address from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
RELATED: Throne Speech web item
“Whenever a Prime Minister has made an address after the Throne Speech, it’s been about the Throne Speech” Amanda Moddejonge, Green Party President, Thunder Bay-Rainy River Electoral District Association.
The message to the nation after the fact was a subject of contention for both the Conservatives and the Green Party.
“They had asked him not to have a primarily political speech, and if they were going to grant him airtime that it’d be essentially for the good of the country,” says John Bell, Conservative President of the Electoral District Association for Thunder Bay-Superior North. “In twenty minutes we got five minutes of that, and for the remaining fifteen we saw political pandering and an explanation of the throne speech.”
“From a communication’s perspective, I thought it was rather arrogant for him to launch into that, right after the throne speech when what Canadians needed to do was digest the throne speech,” stresses Amanda Moddejonge, Green Party President of the EDA for Thunder Bay-Rainy River. “We’ve been dealing with [the COVID-19 pandemic] for months and this isn’t going away. [Trudeau] needed to be addressing that consistently throughout this entire matter. Last night was not the time to take the attention away from the speech and put it onto what they have or haven’t been doing [during the pandemic].”
JOHN BELL
CONSERVATIVE PARTY
Bell feels Justin Trudeau should practice what he preaches
“We need to continue to support Canadians in their time of need. What we’re not seeing is the spirit of co-operation that [Justin] Trudeau keeps insisting that he’s providing, and yet he doesn’t really co-operate himself”.
One idea that John Bell suggested was a Union parliament: “The government would have a cabinet that was made up of members from each party. The leaders are already involved with the Privy Council, and Members of Parliament can be appointed to the Privy Council. I think it would make a great deal of sense.”
Despite the lack of unity, the wage subsidy extension is a topic that Bell feels should be clarified.
“Initially the Liberals had put that at a 10% wage subsidy. The move to 75% was actually a Conservative motion and an insistence that it be moved to a manageable level to encourage industries to take a hold of that benefit. In reality it hasn’t attracted nearly the amount of uptake that they had expected. What [Trudeau] is essentially doing is re-announcing the same money, but extending it to the end of the government’s fiscal year [March 31st].”
AMANDA MODDEJONGE
GREEN PARTY
The former candidate in Thunder Bay-Rainy River wants to know where the Liberal’s budget is.
“What is going on right now is absolutely absurd. My guess is the government doesn’t know what it has spent, and has no idea how to tell Canadians that they’ve really let this go on for far too long in a way that is not sustainable.”
“We have a government that still has to fix the Phoenix pay system. Whatever system they’re putting in, I’m very worried about. The Universal Basic Income would give everybody the opportunity to have those safeguards when the government is failing.”
The pay system is one that affected Moddejonge personally, who is a disabled military veteran.
“This was a payroll system that was implemented, and was supposed to pay people in the government [public sector employees]. There were errors of people not getting paid, getting paid at the wrong time or being double-paid. If you got an overpayment you were expected to pay that back, and if you weren’t paid at all you never saw that money. People literally lost their houses because the government couldn’t and wouldn’t provide them the paycheck that they deserved.”
Moddejonge notes one of her benefits was affected by the error, and while she notes some of it has been resolved, it’s actually put her in a situation where she’s still dealing with the government.
In the speech itself, the Clean Power Fund caught her eye. “That was to help regions transitioning away from coal. We need 100% to transition away from coal. We have the means to do it, in fact Ontario managed to do it back in 2014.” says Moddejonge. “Why this is still one of those carrots that [the Liberals] keep dangling over our heads, I’m not sure why”.
IAIN ANGUS
NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Angus has an interesting way of describing throne speech promises.
“They’re all carrots,” indicates Angus “but by the time the legislation gets introduced, those carrots have been peeled a lot and in some cases they’re down to stub or non-existent.”
The former provincial and federal member of the NDP feels leader Jagmeet Singh will have a few things to push in debate.
“Ensuring that we don’t go backwards, in terms of supports for workers and their families,” stresses Angus “In addition guaranteed sick leave for workers, to protect them in terms of their incomes but also to avoid the reality of people going to work perhaps with COVID-19.”
Angus believes the New Democratic Party will ultimately help support the Liberals, which in his mind wouldn’t be the first time the NDP has played a critical role in support governments.
“We wouldn’t have old age pensions, we wouldn’t have healthcare without the work of the NDP in minority governments, who convinced the government of the day that it was the right thing to do at the right time,” notes Angus.
What caught Angus’ attention in the Throne Speech? The discussion of Pharmacare. Angus suggests the benefits of a National strategy would outweigh the cost. “If you have a proper Pharmacare program where everybody gets the medication that they need, that means they’re spending less time at hospitals and less time at the doctor.”