The federal government says it will bring in a law forcing future governments to have balanced budgets during “normal economic times,” freeze its operating budget and reform the way the government manages spending, Gov. Gen. David Johnston said in the throne speech Wednesday.
The speech, which lays out the government’s agenda for the next session of Parliament, also promises to open up Canada’s liquor laws so that Canadians can take beer and spirits across provincial boundaries.
A law, proposed by Conservative MP Dan Albas, that opened provincial trade in wine was wildly popular across the country. In practice, however, many provinces haven’t yet amended their own laws so people can take advantage of the change. A similar exemption for beer and spirits would face the same hurdle.
There was only a brief mention of the Senate, the chamber in which the speech is made: The status quo “is unacceptable” and “must be reformed or … vanish.” The Supreme Court will hear arguments in November about what the federal government can do to reform the Senate without reopening the Constitution.
Few new promises
New promises include:
■$70 billion over 10 years for infrastructure funding for cities, including subways for Toronto and Montreal’s Champlain Bridge
■Ending “pay-to-pay” policies that force people to pay for paper bills rather than electronic.
■Expanding no-cost banking services and working with the provinces and territories to “crack down” on payday lenders, which charge massive interest rates for short-term loans.
■An updated strategy for science, innovation and technology.
There’s also a vague promise to launch “a comprehensive new plan to assist Canadian businesses as they expand abroad.”
Both opposition leaders took aim at Prime Minister Stephen Harper for the proposal to ban budget deficits after the current government didn’t avoid it.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said there was “a great lack of credibility” for the Conservatives. The NDP said 10 of the promises in the throne speech came from their own proposals.
From CBC