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From the Throne |
Assessment and Responses to the 2002 Throne Speech
General Assessment of the Throne Speech
When assessing the 2002 Throne Speech, one should keep several points
in mind:
- Activist government program: This throne speech portrays a much more
activist federal government in social policy. It has been characterized
as Jean Chretien’s legacy and a return to “left” liberalism with increased
government involvement and spending on social issues such as health
care, poverty, the environment, and Aboriginal policy.
- Military and taxes not addressed: The throne speech leaves out several
issues. Two of the most important include the Canadian military and
tax reduction. The absence of these issues signals that they will not
be priorities for the government over the next year.
- Long-term commitment of the government: This throne speech is Jean
Chretien’s vision for Canada. However, he will be stepping down and
Canada will have a new Prime Minister within the next two years. This
change in leadership may result in new priorities for the federal government,
and many of the commitments made in this year’s throne speech may be
discarded or become less important.
Responses to the Throne Speech
Immediately following the Throne Speech, opposition parties were highly
critical of the speech and its vision for Canada.
- Canadian Alliance Party: Canadian Alliance Leader
Stephen Harper was critical of the Throne Speech for its lack of specifics.
Harper also criticized the government for committing to the Kyoto accord
to cut greenhouse gases and more government spending (when it should
be concentrating on cutting taxes).
Canadian
Alliance Official Response to the 2002 Throne Speech
- New Democratic Party of Canada: New Democratic Party
Leader Alexa McDonough asserted that the contents of the speech were
recycled (she emphasized this point by carrying a blue recycling box
into the Senate during the speech). The NDP was pleased with the Liberal’s
more activist agenda, but doubted that the government would actually
back the agenda with money.
NDP
Official Response to the 2002 Throne Speech
- Progressive Conservative Party of Canada: PC leader
Joe Clark asserted that the Throne Speech offered nothing new. Further,
the PC Party stated that the speech as essentially a “work of fiction”
and that Canadians should not expect the government to stick to its
commitments. As Clark stated, “Judging by the last two Throne Speeches,
we can expect only 25% of the promises we hear on Monday to be taken
seriously by the government.”
PC Party
Response to the 2002 Throne Speech
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