OTTAWA, ON鈥擟athay Wagantall, Member of Parliament for Yorkton鈥擬elville, today expressed her disappointment in the Liberal government鈥檚 Speech from the Throne.
鈥淚t鈥檚 clear that Justin Trudeau didn鈥檛 suspend parliament to develop a responsible plan to protect Canadians from COVID-19 and set our economy on the road to recovery,鈥� said Wagantall. 鈥淗e prorogued parliament solely to shut down committees and to avoid scrutiny of his and his cabinet鈥檚 ethical violations.鈥�
Wednesday鈥檚 Speech from the Throne officially resumed the normal business of parliament after a 6-month hiatus and laid out the agenda of the Liberal government for the coming months. In addition to concerns about a public health plan and economic recovery, Wagantall had hoped that the Speech would have addressed growing frustration in Western Canada.
鈥淭he speech failed to mention Western alienation and national unity concerns,鈥� continued Wagantall. 鈥淭he West was ignored other than to be lectured that our Agriculture and Resource industries must move to zero emissions. Both are the backbone of this country and the means to digging us out of a trillion-dollar deficit while continuing to be world leaders in greening the globe.鈥�
The Speech also failed to commit to an increase in health transfers, which was a top ask of the provinces. Instead of giving theprovinces the resources they need to fight the pandemic, the Liberals are once again interfering in provincial jurisdiction. Wa-gantall noted that Justin Trudeau didn鈥檛 offer a plan to deal with a second wave of COVID-19 beyond shutting down the Canadian economy.
鈥淐anadians are being blamed for a second wave of COVID-19 when it was the Liberal government that put us in far greater harm鈥檚 way in the first place, and then shut down our economy,鈥� said Wagantall. 鈥淐onservatives will fight for a credible plan that will keep Canadians safe, while ensuring jobs are protected.鈥�
Wagantall is concerned about the absence of any concrete economic plan in the Throne Speech, noting that Canadians are looking toward their post-pandemic future and want to know that there are job-creation plans in place.
鈥淩e-announcing and extending the current COVID support programs for small and medium enterprises does not incentivize or stimulate job growth. Out of almost 6,800 words in the Throne Speech, economic development is only mentioned once.鈥濃��
At a time when we should be united across this country in our resolve to beat this pandemic and rebuild our economy, what the Liberals delivered were recycled promises, re-announcements, and a refusal to recognize the West as an equal participant in our recovery.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 impossible for me to support this Throne Speech.鈥�
