BARRHEAD/WESTLOCK - Peace River-Westlock MP Arnold Viersen said the Mark Carney Liberal-led government’s throne speech delivered by King Charles III on May 27 had a lot of good things in it.
The question the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) opposition MP asked was how much will the government deliver.
"The speech from the throne is a rhetorical tool that states the direction the government wants to go. The energy superpower language and the need to secure our Canadian economy are both good," he said. "Our job as conservatives and the official Opposition is to hold the government to account on those things and ensure that we do become an energy superpower and a unified economy across the country."
However, Viersen said he hopes that when the prime minister talks about becoming an energy superpower, it includes oil and gas.
"There was no mention of oil and gas, so that is a little bit concerning," he said. "It is something we will be pushing them on in the House of Commons."
Viersen also noted that much of what was in the throne speech sounded very familiar, as many of the ideas and concepts were those that the CPC had been advocating for, in some cases, for several years.
He added, in addition to the throne speech, one of the first things the government did was to introduce a "ways and means" motion eliminating the GST on new home builds, the carbon tax and a two-step income tax reduction.
"These are all things conservatives have been calling for, and I think Parliament has a mandate to do these things, given the results of the election. It isn't everything we were asking for, but it's a start. So we will be supporting it," he said.
For instance, Viersen said the CPC had been advocating for the removal of the GST on all new homes up to $1 million. "They are just doing it for first-time homebuyers. Our thing is a new home is a new home regardless of who is buying it."
Viersen added that if the Liberals truly wanted Canada to become an energy superpower, they also needed to repeal bills C-69, known as the Impact Assessment Act, and C-48, the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, noting that there was no hint that the government was contemplating doing so in the throne speech.
Bill C-69 requires assessments of environmental, health, social, and economic impacts, as well as the rights of Indigenous peoples before a major resource or infrastructure project can proceed. When it was introduced, the Liberals argued that it would expedite the approval of projects by reducing the number of bodies involved in the approval process to one: the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.
However, the CPC and other opponents of the legislation have nicknamed it the "No More Pipelines Act," arguing that it would delay major construction projects and potentially phase out Canada's oil and gas industry.
Bill C-48 prohibits cargo ships carrying more than 12,500 metric tonnes of oil from travelling along B.C.'s coastline between the northern tip of Vancouver Island and Alaska. Proponents of the legislation argue that the ban is necessary to protect the region's important marine wildlife and coastal communities.
Viersen said the speech also mentions the need for fiscal restraint but finds it odd that they would single that out and then delay presenting a budget until the fall.
He added that when the Stephen Harper-led CPC first formed a government, they presented a budget within a month.
"Harper had a clear mandate to bring in fiscal restraint, and that is why he presented his budget quickly. I would suggest that Mark Carney has the same mandate in this election to bring in fiscal restraint, and it was something he ran on, so it would have behooved his government to bring in a budget sooner than later," Viersen said. "This is just a pattern of saying one thing and then failing to act. That is our concern; the throne speech talks about fiscal restraint; now we want to see the follow-up."
Viersen added that he was also pleased that crime reduction initiatives were highlighted in the speech, explicitly noting that the King, on behalf of the government, discussed the importance of curtailing human trafficking, something he has been working hard to help end.
"I will be interested to see where they will go with that, and I am willing to push the government to take action," he said.
Once-in-a-lifetime experience
Viersen said this year's throne speech was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
It was only the third time in Canada's history that the speech was delivered by the nation's head of state and reigning monarch. The first time was in 1957 , when Queen Elizabeth II delivered the speech opening Parliament for John Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservative government and the second was in 1977, when she did same for the Pierre Elliott Trudeau-led Liberal government.
"I was a big fan of Queen Elizabeth, and I do like the monarchy; I think it is a symbol of stability in our world. It is also the foundation of our entire system of laws," he said.
Viersen added the throne speech is always read from the Senate; the MPs are not allowed in the chamber and are cordoned off. Because it was such a historic occasion, the Senate opened the chamber to the public. Several hundred members of the public, decided on by draw, were able to watch King Charles deliver the speech from the Senate chambers, including Viersen's wife and oldest daughter.
"It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and there was all the pomp and circumstance. It was all exciting."
