Throne Speech October 2013

Throne Speech October 2013 – Highlights

The federal government opened the 2nd session of the 41st Parliament with the Speech from the Throne on Wednesday, October 16.

The speech opened by acknowledging the continuing instability in Canada’s economy and reasserting the government’s commitment to protect jobs and the economy; to keep taxes low; and to make families and communities safe.

The Speech committed the federal government to passing a law to force future governments to have balanced budgets during "normal economic times," freeze its operating budget and reform the way the government manages spending,

Highlights of the speech summarized from the Government of Canada website are listed below.

Creating Jobs and Opportunities for Canadians

Creating jobs and securing economic growth is and will remain the Government’s top priority.
Canada now leads the G-7 in job creation, in income growth and in keeping debt levels low. One million net new jobs have been created since the depths of the recession.
The Government will soon complete negotiations on a comprehensive economic and trade agreement with the European Union. This agreement has the potential to create 80,000 new Canadian jobs.
The Government will continue to work to remove barriers to trade between provinces and territories that cost jobs, inconvenience Canadians, and defy common sense. For instance, the Government will work with British Columbia and Ontario, and other willing jurisdictions, to set up a cooperative regulatory system for securities and capital markets.

Balanced Budgets and Reducing the Cost of Government

The Government will continue reducing the size and cost of Government to ensure that taxpayers get value for money.
Freeze the overall federal operating budget, which will continue to restrain hiring.
Make further targeted reductions to internal government spending.
Reform the way the federal system manages spending.

Resource Development
Directly and indirectly, the natural resource sector employs 1.8 million Canadians and generates $30 billion annually in revenue that supports health care, education and programs Canadians cherish.

The Government believes that resource development must respect the environment. Consequently, the Government’s plan for responsible resource development includes the following priorities:

Establish measures to protect against spills and other risks to the environment and local communities.
• Enshrine the polluter-pay system into law.
Enshrine the polluter-pay system into law.
Set higher safety standards for companies operating offshore as well as those operating pipelines, and increase the required liability insurance.
Re-introduce the Safeguarding Canada’s Seas and Skies Act, to protect our oceans and coasts.

Infrastructure
In its Economic Action Plan 2013, the Government launched the new Building Canada Plan, the largest long-term federal commitment to infrastructure in Canadian history. Over the next decade, our Government will invest 70 billion dollars in federal, provincial, territorial and community infrastructure. Projects such as building subways in the Greater Toronto Area, replacing Montréal’s Champlain Bridge, building a new Windsor-Detroit crossing and constructing Vancouver’s Evergreen Line will create jobs across our country.

Science and Technology
Canada now leads G-7 countries in post-secondary research investment. The Government is committed to:

Release an updated Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy.
Make targeted investments in science and innovation chains from laboratory to market in order to position Canada as a leader in the knowledge economy.
Build on its record as the first government to achieve an absolute reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by working with provinces to reduce emissions from the oil and gas sectors while ensuring Canadian companies remain competitive.
Work with provinces and territories to develop a National Disaster Mitigation Program, focused on reducing the impact of natural disasters.

Analysis

Generally the commitments in the Speech spoke to the Government's core values while the details were vague and the true direction of the government will not be evident until it starts introducing legislation in the coming months. Specifically, while commitment to the new Building Canada Plan seems strong, the actual shape of the new funding program remains unknown. CWWA also notes a continued commitment to reducing the size of government through cutting federal jobs and programs, which will result in further program cuts and possible deregulation in areas of overlapping jurisdiction.

Canadian Water and Wastewater Association