Juno News - LIVE Coverage of the Speech from the Throne

00:00:01.000 Hi, and welcome to a special Wednesday edition of the True North Update.

00:00:04.960 I'm your host, Candace Malcolm, joined by my friend and colleague, Andrew Lawton.

00:00:09.280 Andrew, thank you so much for joining us today in this special Wednesday live edition of

00:00:13.040 the True North Update to be talking about the long-awaited throne speech.

00:00:18.140 Yeah, I mean, I don't know if it's long-awaited necessarily.

00:00:21.120 We were fine, I think, in Canadian politics without this happening, and then Trudeau decided

00:00:25.060 in the midst of an investigation into the We Scandal that he had to prorogue Parliament

00:00:29.460 and here we are again.

00:00:30.880 So the fact is there is going to be a huge question mark,

00:00:34.360 as we'll talk about in the pre-show, I think,

00:00:36.260 about why this was really necessary

00:00:38.140 and what Canadians are going to be getting out of this.

00:00:40.840 Well, I say long awaited, Andrew,

00:00:42.540 because it felt like we had the rug pulled out

00:00:45.440 from under our feet.

00:00:46.540 We were in the midst of a heated summer session.

00:00:49.440 We had the Parliamentary Committee, Finance Committee,

00:00:52.520 looking into Justin Trudeau's We Scandal.

00:00:54.720 And it was like we were just getting somewhere, right?

00:00:56.740 We were getting to the bottom

00:00:57.740 of where all this money had gone.

00:00:59.460 what the scandal was, piecing it together. And Justin Trudeau sort of inexplicably

00:01:04.480 prorogued Parliament and said, okay, we need a pause. We need a month-long

00:01:08.580 reset of our system. And a lot of journalists, a lot of watchers, a lot of our viewers

00:01:14.600 were probably scratching their heads just wondering why. Like, why do we need to take

00:01:18.640 a break? We had just had this long break throughout COVID where we didn't have the

00:01:22.900 regular Parliament. Just as we're back, you know, why prorogued in the first place? And

00:01:27.780 Justin Trudeau's response seemed to be, well, you know, we need to have a new vision for the future.

00:01:33.480 We need to have this new government that's going to do all kinds of things that we hadn't done

00:01:38.920 before and just sort of pull the plug. So it's like, you know, we've just had five, six weeks

00:01:44.160 of waiting and speculating, and we've seen so many news stories hyping up so many kind of

00:01:49.040 harebrained schemes and ideas of what may be to come in this throne speech. I think a lot of it

00:01:56.020 was just sort of overblown and sort of like you know the things that were put

00:02:00.640 out in the media that won't actually come to fruition that were just meant to

00:02:03.460 be a distraction or meant to build up expectations so that when the actual

00:02:08.140 throne speech comes out everyone will be left saying oh it's not that's not too

00:02:12.420 extreme that's not too drastic that's sort of within the normal realm of

00:02:15.820 Canadian politics so I just say it for that reason in just that you know Trudeau

00:02:20.900 tried to hit the reset button hit the pause button and now we're finally gonna

00:02:25.120 get back to where we were just a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, and I'm glad you mentioned, Candice,

00:02:30.240 the idea that there had been a lot of time away from Parliament given the pandemic, because this

00:02:36.080 is very key. It's not even like we were at a normal point where the parliamentary session had

00:02:40.960 been going and it had stretched into the summer a bit. And, you know, after all of that work,

00:02:45.340 they said, okay, let's take a few weeks before the fall. This was quite the opposite. I mean,

00:02:49.060 they had taken an unofficial prorogation, so to speak, while they were dealing with the pandemic,

00:02:53.680 only doing very sparse sessions only when necessary and only dealing with pandemic related

00:03:00.040 things. So there was actually a lot that the government was supposed to be looking at that

00:03:04.480 didn't happen going back to March because of everything coronavirus related. So the idea of

00:03:10.180 saying, let's stop, take a few weeks off and then come back actually takes away from a lot of the

00:03:16.080 work that should have been done already and should have been in progress. And to your point about

00:03:20.940 what is going to come of this, if this ends up being, as they say, a nothing burger, there's

00:03:26.440 nothing really that bold, nothing that exciting and nothing that different, then it really will

00:03:30.720 show us how this was purely a political opportunity more than anything else, just to

00:03:36.280 cut all the criticism, cut the we talk, cut the we committees and come back and try to basically

00:03:42.820 turn over a new leaf and start fresh when that wasn't really all that necessary. And the reason

00:03:48.480 I say that is because at Trudeau's daily briefings that have been going back to March, and they aren't

00:03:53.520 daily anymore, but at those regular press conferences, he was coming out with announcements

00:03:57.440 with new policies. So the idea that we needed a throne speech for the government to unveil a new

00:04:02.480 plan just isn't true. Well, and it reminds me, and this is something I talked about in my recent

00:04:07.300 interview with Pierre Polyev, who's a finance critic for the Conservatives, is that back when

00:04:11.800 Justin Trudeau was doing those daily briefings, he was doing a daily 15-minute announcement

00:04:16.620 followed by a q a from hand selected members of the mainstream media that that was pitched to us

00:04:22.540 the public as being an alternative to question period and even at the point where the conservatives

00:04:27.500 were trying to press for having an actual parliamentary having a session and being able to

00:04:33.580 hold the government to account and being able to scrutinize those spending announcements the the

00:04:37.660 media kind of brushed it off and said oh you know we we do get accountability we don't need question

00:04:43.420 period to ask questions of the prime minister and they tried to kind of make it seem like

00:04:48.060 they were the ones that were going to hold this prime minister to account well of course andrew

00:04:52.060 we know that those press conferences uh were mostly just you know softball questions and fluff

00:04:57.420 it was mostly just justin trudeau announcing his latest plan and his latest uh announcement

00:05:02.220 of billions and billions of dollars going towards whatever scheme and there wasn't really that kind

00:05:06.460 of oversight or accountability which is how we ended up with the we scam in the first place

00:05:11.660 because uh trudeau basically thought that he was above scrutiny above the law that that that that

00:05:18.940 it was going to be seen as a negative to criticize the prime minister and be seen as being partisan

00:05:25.260 in the midst of this pandemic at that time no one knew how bad it was going to be how severe it was

00:05:29.580 going to be and all the predictions were really really overblown and so trudeau just sort of

00:05:33.900 skated past all that and i think i think that's also an important point in how we got here is

00:05:38.860 just that again the prime minister went for months and months without any real kind of scrutiny

00:05:43.660 the moment he got back into the the setting where he had that kind of parliamentary

00:05:48.060 scrutiny he pulled the plug and said i can't handle this give me six weeks to recoup and then

00:05:53.260 that's basically where we are today yeah so it's kind of a catch-22 with where we are now because

00:05:59.100 if we have something really bold and radical and very far left that comes down the pipeline i think

00:06:05.180 I'll be against it because of that. And if we have nothing particularly, if no, it'll be against it

00:06:09.360 because it seems like a waste of time. So from my perspective, it would take a lot for me to be

00:06:13.700 happy with what's going to be happening today. And I don't say that just because I've decided

00:06:18.540 that I don't like Trudeau or something like that. I say that because there's very little about what's

00:06:23.720 happening in the lead up to this and what it sounds like we might hear in the throne speech

00:06:28.960 that seems justifiable. And we're going to be talking about this with some guests that we're

00:06:32.720 going to have coming on before the throne speech and after. One of the ideas that was brought up

00:06:37.260 in media reports when the Liberals were having their caucus retreat was the idea of a universal

00:06:42.140 basic income. We know this is something that the NDP has long been a supporter of. And this really

00:06:47.640 reminds us that anything the Prime Minister does, anything the Liberals do, needs to get support

00:06:53.160 from at least one other party. And that doesn't come without a cost. That doesn't come for free.

00:06:58.120 yeah absolutely and andrew it's starting to feel like a lot of those news reports were

00:07:03.560 were really just deflections again i mentioned this a couple minutes ago but we we had really

00:07:09.080 strong language there's a bloomberg article that came out right after prorogation saying

00:07:14.440 more from the perspective of finance minister christia freeland saying that she had been

00:07:18.440 tapped to sort of reimagine what government can do and come up with this bold new strategy there

00:07:23.560 There were a couple of pieces from John Iveson over at National Post that were really strongly hinting towards, you know, a very remarkable new agenda where Trudeau had basically gone to the senior civil servants, well, Trudeau's people had gone to, you know, deputy ministers and the top people in the civil service to say, hey, look, throw any idea you have at us.

00:07:43.980 we're going to like double down triple down on spending pedal to the metal any any idea that you

00:07:49.900 have any kind of idea uh that that could be implemented we want to try it this is going to

00:07:54.460 be sort of like trudeau's legacy announcement and you know there was this big speculation

00:08:00.700 that something big was coming something some kind of big change trudeau was going to be trying to

00:08:05.420 reset uh the narrative to to focus really on a green recovery after kobe kind of rebuilding

00:08:11.740 the economy and some kind of liberal utopian vision uh but but that that speculation has kind

00:08:17.500 of really quieted down the last week or so i would say that the the articles and the and the leaks

00:08:23.260 and the columnists what they're writing about has has shifted drastically we're not really hearing

00:08:27.420 that language anymore about some kind of uh new utopian trudeau vision for canada you know the

00:08:33.500 media focus is now really heavily on the fact that justin trudeau is speaking live tonight

00:08:39.260 uh which which is something else that i think that we should uh kind of try to dissect here

00:08:44.220 andrew because it's so unprecedented the throne speech i mean we're going to get to it and we're

00:08:48.860 going to see it you know there's a 30-minute ceremony that happens before the actual speech

00:08:52.700 happens where there's all kinds of just sort of pomp and you know the whole ceremony around

00:08:59.980 canada's parliamentary democracy and our traditions that date back to the british traditions you see a

00:09:04.780 lot of costumes and a lot of really ceremonial things that that happen and and the reason that

00:09:10.700 the governor general reads the speech and it's not it's not the prime minister giving a partisan

00:09:14.780 address it's the governor general doing it because it's not supposed to be political and so the idea

00:09:20.540 now that justin trudeau is taking to the airwaves tonight at 6 30 p.m eastern time to give an

00:09:26.140 address which we're told is not a political address it's a address you know as the leader

00:09:31.260 of canada as the prime minister it really sort of confuses the whole issue and again that's become

00:09:37.420 the focus now it's the focus is on trudeau the man and his image and what he's going to say to

00:09:41.740 canadians not so much about this sort of ambitious agenda that that we were hearing so much about

00:09:48.620 yeah i remember a year and a half two years ago you and i were on a tour of the house of lords

00:09:53.420 in the united kingdom which is the body on which the canadian senate is based and we had the the

00:09:58.940 the great privilege of standing in the the robing room where her majesty the queen would sit

00:10:03.820 in preparation for the throne speech and you know you saw in the house of lords the ceremony that

00:10:09.280 would take place from the robing room down the hall into the house of lords and the whole point

00:10:14.880 of it it's in the name the speech from the throne is that it is about the crown and you may be a

00:10:19.560 republican you may not like the monarchy or respect the monarchy that's fine but this is meant to be

00:10:24.620 about the crown and the idea of Canada above partisanship, Canada above the prime minister,

00:10:31.020 above the political workings of government. And that's very important because Justin Trudeau is

00:10:35.960 trying to have the last word here. He's, instead of allowing the speech to speak for itself through

00:10:41.020 the governor general, which is the stand in for the queen, he is trying to have the last word and

00:10:45.360 give his own speech from the throne, the speech from wherever he's going to be. And there's

00:10:49.300 something very self-indulgent about that. And Global News had put out a tweet that said they

00:10:55.000 only agreed to give the prime minister the airtime because they got assurances from the prime

00:10:59.680 minister's office that it wasn't going to be partisan. How can it not be? He's selling a list

00:11:04.380 of promises when there's the possibility at some point of an election, it's going to be partisan.

00:11:10.200 There's no way about it. Well, absolutely. And the idea, I mean, what is the distinction,

00:11:15.160 Andrew, between being political and not being political. I mean, again, just to read this tweet

00:11:22.360 here from a Global News reporter, the PMO's request for airtime from national broadcasters,

00:11:28.440 Global News says it received assurances that the Prime Minister's request was based on an

00:11:33.880 urgent national importance to the Canadian public and was not a political address. I just don't

00:11:39.880 understand if it's an urgent national importance of urgent national importance to the canadian

00:11:45.400 public why does it just so happen to fall on the same night as the throne speech i mean couldn't

00:11:49.880 he have done it any of the last you know six weeks is what what what today is suddenly of urgent

00:11:56.840 national importance presumably he's going to be talking about the new surge in in covid cases or

00:12:01.880 the covid recovery perhaps i i assume that's that sort of justification but i i think it's kind of

00:12:09.400 silly even on behalf of the media companies new news agencies to fall for that because it's

00:12:15.320 clearly a political speech and i hope that they in turn give equal air time to other you know

00:12:22.200 opposition leaders leader of the opposition erin o'toole and perhaps even other uh opposition

00:12:26.760 leaders because otherwise it will be seen as a sort of political or partisan moment andrew

00:12:32.200 yeah and it looks like global may be hedging in a way as in anticipating it will just end up being

00:12:37.560 political and they can say, well, we told them, I mean, we told them we didn't want that.

00:12:42.020 Let's talk about some of the things that should be in there that we hope are going to be in there.

00:12:46.500 Aaron Woodrick is the federal director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and joins us live

00:12:51.740 here on the True North Update. Aaron, good to talk to you. Thanks very much for coming on today.

00:12:56.080 Hey, thanks for having me.

00:12:57.580 So let's start with the one topic that we really did get in the discussions over the last week

00:13:02.980 and a half that was specific. And it's not that we know it's going to be in the throne speech,

00:13:06.880 but we've heard the Liberals have at least been discussing it, and that is universal basic income.

00:13:12.040 This is something that would very much transform the Canadian social welfare programs,

00:13:18.300 but would also transform Canadian spending and not in a good way.

00:13:22.560 What's your thought on that when we heard that was a possibility, something that the Liberals were at least weighing?

00:13:28.060 Well, I took a deep breath. I mean, this is the mother of all big ticket items.

00:13:31.520 even for these sort of basic versions of these basic incomes you're talking

00:13:35.700 hundreds of billions of dollars for the more Cadillac versions you're talking

00:13:39.560 half a trillion dollars so basically you know up to double what the government

00:13:43.400 or everything the federal government spends right now these are this is

00:13:46.500 massive massive money we're talking about so look having engaged with a few

00:13:51.140 liberals who actually been brave enough to talk about it I suspect if anything

00:13:55.100 what we're gonna see is something that's not universal as something that is very

00:13:59.300 basic something that essentially is another targeted social program now whether or not that's

00:14:03.380 a good program we'll have to see you know who it goes to and how much it costs but i suspect once

00:14:08.740 you know people talk a good game about universal incomes but as soon as it collides with reality

00:14:14.100 with the dollars you're talking inevitably it's just it just will never fly well aaron i had a

00:14:19.540 question on that line because the idea the original idea came from milton friedman and it used to be

00:14:24.980 a conservative idea the idea of it being universal though you know i can't really imagine trudeau

00:14:30.820 and the liberals agreeing to give any kind of you know income redistribution to wealthy people or to

00:14:36.420 even middle class canadians uh but maybe you can talk a little bit about what a universal basic

00:14:42.180 income was originally and why conservatives no longer support it yeah i mean milton friedman

00:14:48.020 essentially proposed replacing you know the whole basket of entitlements with a minimum income so

00:14:53.140 that's the thing you never hear about with basic income today is you never talk about what they're

00:14:56.580 going to cut to pay for it and that's part of the problem i think if you were talking about a

00:15:01.140 situation where you wipe out all the money going out the door and instead convert it into something

00:15:06.100 that's a minimum level for everyone we can have that conversation but even then the obvious

00:15:10.900 question is if we have scarce resources why aren't we targeting it where it's most needed why would

00:15:15.220 you be sending money to people who don't need it instead of saying we only have so much money to

00:15:18.980 go around let's target and that's what we do with most of our programs right that's what we do with

00:15:22.980 things like the guaranteed income supplement from seniors we don't give it to every senior

00:15:26.580 we just give it to seniors that don't have a lot of money and so uh it just i think it really comes

00:15:30.980 down to um you know whether or not people are prepared to admit that this is not a silver

00:15:36.020 bullet it would be very expensive if you're not even going to talk about uh cutting spending on

00:15:40.660 anything else then it's a complete non-starter to propose yeah let's talk about spending which

00:15:46.020 no matter what the government is committing to doing moving forward is going to be a huge

00:15:50.500 problem here we've heard reports that the deficit is going to be upwards of 350 billion dollars the

00:15:56.580 debt going up by the minute by the second so is there at all in your view from anything we've

00:16:02.820 heard from the government a plan to rectify this yeah none whatsoever they don't seem seized with

00:16:08.420 it at all that's part of the problem look obviously we know we're in the middle of a

00:16:13.140 pandemic everyone's used the word unprecedented we all we get that but the fact that they're not even

00:16:17.780 looking at ways to save money on things they were spending money on before the pandemic. I mean we

00:16:22.100 just put out a report where we identified 30 billion dollars in low priority spending that

00:16:27.060 they could cut and this is all stuff from before the pandemic. This has nothing to do with the

00:16:31.140 measures they brought in since. If they're not even willing to look at that, I mean if this is

00:16:35.220 a government that thinks now is a time to shop around for the nice-to-haves rather than focusing

00:16:40.740 on the core things that people expect, I just think they're out of touch with where most people are.

00:16:45.540 And from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation perspective, Erin, did you think that, like,

00:16:50.420 at what line did the spending become out of control? Because I think that there must have

00:16:54.900 been some kind of a justification, you know, if the government is going to shut down the economy for

00:16:59.460 public health reasons, you have to compensate people, you have to be there to fill in the

00:17:04.660 economic gap. But at what point did it become over the top? What did the Canadian Taxpayers

00:17:10.100 Federation sort of say about COVID spending versus, you know, just how we got into this position?

00:17:16.500 Yeah, it's a great point because as you know, we're very keen on fighting against corporate

00:17:19.620 welfare. We're big fans of free enterprise, but we don't think businesses should get free money

00:17:23.300 from taxpayers. The reason this is different is because the reason that most businesses are

00:17:27.300 suffering is the government ordered them shut down. So it's like, you know, if the government

00:17:31.700 puts you in a coma, they're obligated to provide you with the life support to keep you alive. So

00:17:35.300 So it's a very different situation.

00:17:36.400 But I think the thing that really, you know, the CERB back in March, it made sense because

00:17:42.960 they want, you know, you wanted people to stay home and they couldn't work.

00:17:45.860 They had to, you know, get groceries and pay their rent.

00:17:47.820 As we started to reopen the economy and the fact that the government did not recalibrate

00:17:52.120 these programs and start targeting them, you know, start making a distinction between the

00:17:55.820 people who could work but didn't want to work and the people who literally had no choice.

00:18:00.000 That's where I started to get concerned.

00:18:01.700 And we saw, I mean, just most recently, there was a report that showed, you know, Canadians

00:18:06.340 have lost $21 million in income since the beginning of the pandemic.

00:18:10.040 But the Trudeau government said $57 billion out the door to make up for that.

00:18:13.880 That is called missing the mark.

00:18:16.240 And we can't afford that kind of mistake over and over again.

00:18:19.540 So that is why, you know, my sort of approach to this government is, I get it, you were

00:18:23.460 in a hurry, it wasn't going to be perfect.

00:18:25.000 But if you're not prepared to fix things as they go and take constructive criticism and

00:18:30.540 fix them then you know is fair game to go after you because we cannot afford to

00:18:35.160 just spray money around forever you've got to start getting better and better

00:18:38.640 at targeting where it's needed well and this is a follow-up to that I mean they

00:18:43.200 spent so much of the fiscal capacity that this country has what what's gonna

00:18:47.480 happen Aaron if there is a second like huge wave of COVID cases this fall as

00:18:52.680 many are predicting as the weather gets colder we could have the same thing

00:18:57.240 happen again. Does the government have the fiscal capacity at that point to do it all again? Is that

00:19:03.680 what you're seeing that they may be talking about proposing today? Well, I guess I would say this,

00:19:09.520 they seem to think it's like they're at the casino and they're in a hot streak, so things can't

00:19:13.360 possibly change, right? Interest rates are low, it's cheap to borrow. Well, things can change. I

00:19:17.740 mean, if this year has taught us anything, it's that not everything can be predicted and you can

00:19:21.700 get blindsided by stuff. And yet there are a lot of people who still want to just, well, we shouldn't

00:19:25.620 worry about it. Interest rates will probably be fine forever. Look, can we carry on like this for

00:19:30.040 a little bit longer? Yes. We can't carry on like this for a year or two. And if there is no vaccine

00:19:36.060 and we're in this situation for a long time, there's going to be some tough questions about

00:19:39.780 how we're supposed to manage sending $2 out the door basically for every dollar we're bringing

00:19:45.620 in in revenue. Yeah. And that is where we get into the challenge here. And I'd say that there's been

00:19:51.840 a narrative problem in that when we were in the midst of a crisis, everyone, including many people

00:19:56.320 in the opposition, by the way, were pretty on board with, okay, we've just got to get money

00:20:00.560 out the door and deal with it later. Well, we're at the later part now. And without a plan, I mean,

00:20:05.680 this is going to completely handicap, forget about Justin Trudeau's government, any future

00:20:10.520 government, be it liberal or conservative or otherwise, going to severely handicap their

00:20:15.100 ability to do anything for years. This is not a one, two, three, or even four year challenge now

00:20:21.460 to correct this is it it isn't and you know it's astonishing to me that we're even talking about

00:20:26.200 these these pie in the sky big ticket items oh we're I mean they talk about things like pharma

00:20:30.500 care and and and national uh you know government daycare and I'm like we couldn't even afford these

00:20:35.460 things before the pandemic I do not have any idea where people think well we just spent 400 billion

00:20:40.120 that we don't have now's the time to go out and and look for more nice to have I mean they should

00:20:44.720 be looking at things that we can go without right now because they've they've spent so much money

00:20:48.980 that we weren't prepared for. So I just think it's tone deaf. I think they are out of touch

00:20:53.140 with most people are. Most people want, they want to make sure they have job security. They're

00:20:57.140 concerned about their mortgage. They want to make sure their kids can go to school. These are the

00:21:00.440 concerns of the vast majority of Canadians. They're not sitting there thinking, well,

00:21:03.820 how can we reshape and reinvent the economy? They would like, like, let's start by getting

00:21:08.300 the old economy back first. Then we can have a conversation about where you want to go from

00:21:12.400 there. So I, I just think it's, um, you know, if we believe recent reports, they seem to have come

00:21:17.680 their senses a little bit they're not going to do go with this big green stuff i hope that's true

00:21:21.440 for all our sake but uh boy it sounds like they still have it in the back of their mind uh that

00:21:25.920 they're going to pull that card out later well you kind of suspect that it could come at any time

00:21:30.000 and that they're going to use opportunities like this to try to sneak through at least elements of

00:21:34.640 it but you did pick up on something i i wanted to ask you about aaron and so when we're talking

00:21:39.680 about the universal basic income or guaranteed income whatever you want to call it you know the

00:21:44.160 The idea was that it would replace welfare state programs,

00:21:47.560 it would replace social services,

00:21:48.860 which are run by the provinces.

00:21:50.500 And so the idea that the feds would come in,

00:21:52.700 I did see a lot of sort of reports that economists

00:21:56.780 and bankers, these types were advocating for policies

00:21:59.540 that could help bring the labor force back, 1.00

00:22:02.880 help people get back to work.

00:22:04.140 And one of the examples cited was helping with childcare.

00:22:07.440 And so providing some kind of a government childcare.

00:22:09.920 Do you see that happening today?

00:22:11.420 And again, to the point of whether or not

00:22:13.960 these programs are gonna replace existing programs.

00:22:17.000 I mean, right now we have the childcare benefits.

00:22:19.900 So families with little kids under the age of six

00:22:22.460 already get money sent to them every month

00:22:25.120 as long as their income's under a threshold.

00:22:28.100 So would we see childcare on top of that?

00:22:30.520 Or would that be, you know, instead of that

00:22:33.000 and then clawing back those monthly checks that we see?

00:22:36.620 Yeah, I strongly suspect it would be on top of that.

00:22:38.780 I mean, that's one of their most popular programs.

00:22:40.940 Frankly, it's an improvement on the Harper program,

00:22:43.280 which itself was a victory over the Liberals.

00:22:46.040 I mean, we all remember that debate back in 2006.

00:22:49.380 Harper proposed sending money to parents.

00:22:51.060 The Liberals mocked it and said

00:22:52.360 they'd spend it on beer and popcorn.

00:22:53.840 Harper won that election, won that argument.

00:22:55.540 And then the Liberals, interestingly,

00:22:57.160 didn't throw it out.

00:22:58.280 They just took it and improved it.

00:22:59.560 So it's actually a win.

00:23:01.040 Both parties can claim some ownership of that.

00:23:03.400 And I think that's actually a good thing.

00:23:05.120 But that's the question that I have is,

00:23:09.660 childcare is important.

00:23:10.580 Obviously, we've heard about the importance of that.

00:23:12.980 it's not just for women I mean I'm a parent of three small kids myself and I

00:23:16.700 juggle with my wife you know dealing with childcare issues and and so I think

00:23:21.860 the problem is assuming that there is a sort of one-size-fits-all solution like

00:23:26.480 most most proposals for government daycare involve Monday to Friday nine

00:23:30.680 to five sort of arrangements that doesn't work for everyone so if you're

00:23:33.620 really interested in trying to help the maximum number of people they do need

00:23:38.160 they should be looking at things like the childcare benefit rather than a one

00:23:41.900 size fits all government daycare system. So I guess the one thing I would put to you here as

00:23:47.820 we wind down, Aaron, what would be your wishlist item? What would you love to see if you were

00:23:51.380 writing the throne speech? What would you love to see be announced today? I'd like to see at least

00:23:56.200 a nod to the fact that the fiscal situation is precarious. I think they're just going to completely

00:24:00.060 ignore it altogether. I think that they also need to, whatever spending they're announcing

00:24:04.640 should be related to the pandemic. They should be, you know, it should be temporary. It should

00:24:08.280 be related to the pandemic it should not this is not the time for them to fantasize about these

00:24:12.920 ideological projects that they've been hoping to to to do all along and never done anything that

00:24:17.720 smacks of exploiting the crisis just to ram through something they've always wanted to do

00:24:22.520 i think would be very problematic well thank you so much for insight and analysis that's uh

00:24:27.400 aaron woodrick of the canadian taxpayers federation thanks for your time today aaron thanks guys

00:24:33.400 that was great and one thing we didn't talk about earlier candace that i think everyone's

00:24:37.800 has been asking about, so we have to certainly bring it up in a couple of ways here, is the idea

00:24:42.640 of an election. We've been getting fielded questions, or we've been fielding questions

00:24:46.880 going back to the very beginning of these True North Update shows. Why is there no non-confidence

00:24:51.800 motion? Why is there no election? A lot of people think, okay, the government is a minority

00:24:56.360 government. It's precarious. When are the conservatives going to trigger the downfall?

00:25:00.420 If there's going to be an election called in the next little while, it's going to be over this.

00:25:05.460 It's going to be over this or perhaps the budget, which should be coming in a few weeks

00:25:09.460 here.

00:25:10.220 Where is your thought on this now?

00:25:11.940 Do you think that there's going to be an election or do you think Trudeau is going to get, like

00:25:15.220 I said earlier, just needs one party?

00:25:17.020 Do you think he's going to get the support from the NDP or theoretically the Bloc Québécois

00:25:21.320 or Conservatives?

00:25:22.900 Yeah, I think he will get the support from the NDP.

00:25:25.080 I mean, you have to look at it pragmatically as well.

00:25:27.220 Andrew, I was, you know, if you had asked me this question two weeks ago, and I think

00:25:30.140 we did talk about it two weeks ago, I was definitely leaning more towards the idea that

00:25:34.560 we would be coming up on election that Trudeau had no choice given the fact that he wanted to

00:25:38.780 introduce this grand new vision for the country. Given the corner that he had backed himself into

00:25:43.820 fiscally you know the auditor general came out with reports saying that the spending is

00:25:48.140 unsustainable within one to two years which is not a lot of time and then given the fact that

00:25:53.040 he killed the weak committees because he was just getting into hot water it's like you know this guy

00:25:57.860 needs to try to go for majority government right now before the Canadian public catches on to just

00:26:02.420 how bad the physical situation is and so i think from trudeau's perspective this is probably his

00:26:07.700 best shot but i don't think that the optics of him pushing the canadian public into an election in

00:26:12.820 the midst of a pandemic is very good optics look you tweeted about this the other day andrew the

00:26:18.340 ndp is broke right they they're still in debt from the last election they have a hapless ineffective

00:26:23.700 leader in jagmeet singh and they're just they're just not in a position to to push an election

00:26:28.100 right now. So I would say that it's probably not going to happen. But again, take it with a grain

00:26:36.380 of salt because I have no idea. And perhaps that's why Trudeau wants to talk to me. Perhaps

00:26:40.640 that's the real reason why he wants to have an address is because he is going to call that

00:26:44.380 election. Yeah. And the NDP, we've seen this. Jagmeet Singh has been laying the groundwork

00:26:49.140 for circumstances under which the NDP would support it by saying, well, we're pushing for

00:26:54.060 this and we're pushing for this and we want a vision for Canadians and the middle class and

00:26:57.880 all of that. So he's basically trying to couch it as though if a throne speech comes out that has

00:27:03.000 even peripherally something the NDP has been talking about, he can say it's a win and we

00:27:08.040 don't need to go to the polls. And he's got a little bit of political cover, it seems.

00:27:12.400 Yes, absolutely. And Andrew, this is a great time. I think we can bring in someone who's a little

00:27:16.340 more plugged in on these issues and might have a more sophisticated view on this. We're joined by

00:27:21.020 Member of Parliament for Sherwood Park, Fort Saskatchewan, Garnett Janis. Garnett, thank you

00:27:26.000 so much for joining our show. Thank you. It's great to be with you, but that's a bit of an

00:27:31.120 intimidating introduction. I don't know if anybody has more sophisticated thoughts than you guys,

00:27:36.040 but I just wanted to show off for my audience as well. I wore my Uyghur human rights t-shirt today.

00:27:42.240 It's not the issue we're talking about, but with an ongoing genocide happening in China at the

00:27:47.460 hands of the Chinese Communist Party, we're going to be pushing the government. In addition to all

00:27:52.900 the other issues, we're going to be pushing the government to take a stronger stand on that.

00:27:56.000 Well, good for you. One of the things I was just horrified to see over the weekend was the Globe and Mail printing a two-page propaganda spread called China Watch.

00:28:05.220 You know, if I see something in a newspaper called China Watch, I would expect at least a little bit to be written about human rights.

00:28:11.060 Of course, it was all propaganda and it was provided to the Globe and Mail as a paid advertisement by the Chinese Daily, which is a propaganda wing of the Communist Party of China.

00:28:19.940 So I think it's good for you to be holding the government to account,

00:28:23.420 but we also have to remember to hold our own media and our own journalists to

00:28:27.560 account when they, when they pull crazy little stunts like that. But anyway,

00:28:31.640 Garnett, what are you expecting?

00:28:34.080 Yeah. So, and I'll just say on that, I mean, I, I, I didn't,

00:28:37.060 I didn't see that particular story. And if it's, as you describe,

00:28:40.260 it's something we should dig into. I, I will give credit.

00:28:42.480 There's some folks at the Globe and Mail, Stephen Chase, Bob Fife,

00:28:46.140 certainly they're digging further into, into these issues than some folks at,

00:28:49.940 then we generally see from, for instance, the CBC. So, you know, but in terms of the throne

00:28:56.480 speech, yeah, let's dive into that. The government has been sort of shifting around the messages

00:29:05.640 they've been trying to telegraph. Initially, they were promising these grand changes to remake

00:29:13.320 Canada. And we'll see what the details is on that. A lot of people concerned about that, you know,

00:29:19.460 just the cost of this, right? $343 billion deficit and likely climbing this year without

00:29:25.340 new measures that have been announced. And we can't afford that. My kids can't afford that.

00:29:31.200 We need to have sustainable social programs over the long run. I think it's also important to see

00:29:36.340 what the government is going to say about the management of the public health issues around

00:29:40.840 this pandemic. There've been so many failures. I think most obviously the failure to have rapid

00:29:47.540 testing in place this has been going on for a long time and I think one of the key factors that

00:29:52.820 allows people to uh you know to to stay out there and get back to work is the availability of rapid

00:29:59.060 testing if people think they've been exposed uh but but we're so behind on that certainly behind

00:30:03.940 where many other countries are let me ask you about your hopes as a conservative member of

00:30:10.660 parliament from the throne speech because it seems like everyone says they don't want an election the

00:30:14.660 The Liberals say they don't want one.

00:30:15.960 The Conservatives say they don't want one.

00:30:17.800 The NDP say they don't want one.

00:30:19.780 So at the same time, we also have to look at a prime minister that's very unpopular right now, plagued with scandal.

00:30:25.860 We've got ethical issues with him and many people in cabinet.

00:30:29.300 And as you mentioned, the spending problems aren't going to go away or are only going to get worse.

00:30:33.520 What is it that would really guide where you're going to land on this when you have to vote?

00:30:41.020 Well, I mean, like we're going to take a look at the throne speech, right?

00:30:44.340 We're going to see what's in it. The government has telegraphed one set of things. And when you

00:30:50.780 have public servants that are sounding the alarm, telling the media that there's problems they need

00:30:57.620 to watch out for, that's a concerning sign here. We're going to see what's in it. I'm hopeful that

00:31:07.320 the government will actually have a plan to deal with the pandemic, which we haven't really seen

00:31:13.220 a long-term plan on that and then I'm also hoping that there'll be some sense of fiscal reality that

00:31:19.060 the programs they're announcing have to be paid for at some point. Well what we've seen so far

00:31:24.660 though Garnett is the government is absolutely willing to shovel money out the door and we were

00:31:29.280 talking about this earlier in the show you know the early part of the pandemic was basically

00:31:33.220 Justin Trudeau standing outside of Rideau Cottage announcing new spending announcements day after

00:31:38.480 day after day without real accountability and i think that's how we got to the position where we

00:31:43.920 saw the we controversy because he just wasn't being held accountable for a lot of the spending

00:31:49.120 decisions a lot of them we still don't really know where the money has gone how much is going there

00:31:54.240 do you have any expectation that that that drone speech will include sort of costed analysis of how

00:32:00.400 much uh the spending will cost and how to actually pay for it uh well you know i generally speaking

00:32:08.800 that a lot of that detailed analysis you might expect in a fiscal update which they've said

00:32:13.120 will be will be coming soon uh we were very critical of the government for not releasing

00:32:17.600 a budget at any point in the fall we understand that fiscal projections change but uh you should

00:32:22.000 have a plan you should have a little bit of a sense of of where this is going and you know very

00:32:26.640 much on point, which you said about the government not having a plan and seeming to just kind of fly

00:32:32.980 by the seat of their pants. You had cases where the government would put forward legislation that

00:32:37.300 would be passed quickly in these sort of emergency sessions in the House of Commons, and then the

00:32:41.860 Prime Minister would, in the next day or two days, make an announcement about a program that hadn't

00:32:48.460 actually been authorized by the legislation. So there's a lot of indication that there was a lack

00:32:54.860 of strategy, planning and foresight. And I think, you know, Canadians expect government to prepare

00:33:01.960 for undesirable eventualities, right? Last year, you know, people weren't, everyday people weren't

00:33:09.400 maybe thinking about the possibility of a pandemic, but it is the job of government to plan for these

00:33:14.320 kinds of possibilities. And it's not entirely without precedent. I mean, the Public Health

00:33:18.820 Agency was created in 2003 in response to the SARS pandemic, which was another coronavirus

00:33:25.480 that came from China, relatively similar circumstances, just it didn't kind of reach

00:33:31.160 the proportion that this one did. So we should have had a plan, including public health and

00:33:36.360 economic measures, and the plan was not in place. And this will be, if we get real good fiscal

00:33:43.680 information this fall, this will be the first time that we're getting that information.

00:33:48.180 If you're just tuning in, this is True North Update.

00:33:50.860 You can see on your screen, the Senate session is commencing.

00:33:54.360 The speech from the throne is still just shy of half an hour away.

00:33:57.560 So we will go to that.

00:33:58.740 You're not missing anything.

00:33:59.640 This is the ceremonial aspect of this.

00:34:02.300 And we are going to cover as the day goes on.

00:34:05.080 That is Speaker of the Senate, George Fury, right now.

00:34:08.480 Garnett, going back to our discussion here, you mentioned, I think, a lot of the priorities

00:34:12.560 that we need to see and I think want to see from the government moving forward here.

00:34:16.020 My question to you is, how do you think the official opposition, the Conservatives, are going to be able to drive a lot of these issues when I think the WE investigation showed us that when Justin Trudeau doesn't like the way things are going, he shuts things down?

00:34:31.780 Well, yeah, so the dynamics of this parliament are, you know, the math of it is that basically the Liberals plus one other party equals a majority.

00:34:42.680 So we saw a situation earlier this year where the Liberals made a deal with the NDP,

00:34:48.920 which effectively shut down parliamentary chamber sittings. We were still able to continue with

00:34:54.840 committees until there was the prorogation of parliament, but that shutting down of chamber

00:35:00.040 sitting was possible because of the NDP coming on side. And on any given issue, if the Liberals can

00:35:05.960 make a deal with another party, then they can have their way. But if the opposition parties

00:35:10.760 stand together, then we can push back. So as conservatives, when it comes to some degree of

00:35:18.840 fiscal reality, when it comes to supporting our energy sector, unfortunately, we are unlikely to

00:35:25.960 get the cooperation of the NDP and the bloc. But on issues such as ethics, also to some extent on

00:35:33.380 some foreign policy issues, we are able to get that cooperation. So on some issues with respect

00:35:40.000 to China, like the initial creation of the Canada-China Committee, the Liberals opposed

00:35:43.760 it, but the opposition parties stood together and it happened. And certainly on some of the

00:35:47.600 investigations related to the WE scandal, again, even on ethics, we haven't always gotten the

00:35:53.520 cooperation of the other parties. There were some issues around getting opposition collaboration on

00:35:58.400 SNC-Lavalin, but on WE so far, there's been a willingness among the other opposition parties

00:36:04.960 to join with us in holding the government accountable.

00:36:07.240 So we understand that math, and we're going to do everything we can to move forward on

00:36:14.580 the basis of that math.

00:36:16.000 Of course, on some issues, again, the fiscal situation, the situation of our oil and gas

00:36:24.580 sector, it's just much harder given the dynamics that exist in Parliament.

00:36:28.860 And so, Garnett, I want to ask you, what do you make of the idea here that we're going to see the Prime Minister give a primetime address tonight, speaking directly to Canadians? And then sort of a secondary question that will we expect to hear from new Conservative leader Aaron O'Toole as well? Or what is the plan around that?

00:36:48.480 yeah i mean what what the prime minister has in mind um you know it's it's anyone's guess i mean

00:36:57.440 it it is it's sort of odd that you know today is the day when the government unveils its agenda

00:37:03.620 in in parliament uh using a speech from the throne um and then the prime minister

00:37:11.260 needs a separate window of time in which to to speak to canadians uh

00:37:18.480 You know, like you'd think that if he has something to say to Canadians about the agenda of the government, that it would it would come through the throne speech.

00:37:26.260 You know, it seems to me that maybe this is, you know, even even having the governor general deliver the throne speech is just too much, too much sharing of the limelight.

00:37:35.680 And he wants to be able to to speak on similar things himself.

00:37:41.180 I mean, that's that's the only really.

00:37:43.100 He wants to be on the front page of the Globe and Mail.

00:37:45.620 He doesn't want the governor general to get that.

00:37:48.480 Yeah, I mean, I think that may well be true. And, you know, there is some anticipation around what the governor general is going to say today. I mean, no surprises there. People have been following what's been happening with her office with great interest.

00:38:03.660 And so this may be just kind of a media management strategy by the prime minister, him wanting to be the story, not our governor general.

00:38:16.680 I mean, anytime the governor general is a story as well, I mean, it raises questions about, you know, the vetting and the competence of his office as well.

00:38:23.260 So in terms of the response, I mean, obviously there will be a conservative response.

00:38:28.540 And, you know, we're live. So I was going to say, don't quote me on that. But, you know, I don't I I'm not sure if it's going to be Aaron or if it's going to be someone else. But obviously, there will be a there'll be a conservative response to to whatever the prime minister has to say.

00:38:45.260 Yeah, and I guess that brings us around to the elephant in the room in a lot of ways today, which is the Governor General. And I wonder if there's a part of Justin Trudeau wanting to not let her become the story, given all of the media coverage that's dogged her and her role in that capacity over the last few months.

00:39:05.520 But yeah, I think Candace's point is well taken that instead of just relying on this institution and letting the speech from the throne lay out the agenda, Justin Trudeau needs, you know, time on top of that, which I guess if you need to be the one to keep selling it that much, I wonder how strong the message itself is.

00:39:21.840 Yeah, I will say, you know, I'm a big fan of our conventions of constitutional monarchy. I think they encourage a healthy disrespect of politicians like me, in that they make these figures that are above politics, are supposed to be above politics, kind of a locus of national focus and loyalty.

00:39:45.300 and it keeps politicians from pushing themselves into the stratosphere too much.

00:39:53.660 So I think that the logic of that system is very good, but you can see with Justin Trudeau

00:39:58.540 how maybe he's trying to push back against the logic of that system.

00:40:02.560 Well, and he has been, Garnett, from the very beginning.

00:40:04.880 I mean, the idea of a Canadian prime minister being sort of a celebrity, you see it a lot in the U.S.

00:40:11.000 U.S. politics is much more sort of action-packed and it's sort of made for TV. Feels like you're

00:40:16.120 watching sports and, you know, their household names, their sort of celebrities in their own

00:40:20.960 right. Canada never really had that. And so having a prime minister like Justin Trudeau that's on

00:40:26.300 the cover of GQ that gives these international speeches, sort of an aberration from that

00:40:32.020 tradition. Do you think that's just the reality of like politics in the 21st century with social

00:40:38.440 media that that all all politicians are going to have to be like that or do you think that we can

00:40:42.360 go back to those sort of more boring stable traditions that we had pre-trudeau well i think

00:40:48.200 there is more of a focus on on image and that is that is a probably a bit of a global trend in

00:40:54.360 politics it's not limited to to one system or another um but i think our our new leader aaron

00:41:00.120 o'toole's message that uh look i don't have a famous last name but i'm here to fight for you

00:41:05.080 um you know i hope i don't get in trouble for saying this i mean aaron's unlikely to be on

00:41:09.000 the cover of gq anytime soon um he's he's a he's a strong stable likable highly competent person

00:41:17.000 who uh has served this country in uniform um and and he's not a celebrity uh and and uh and i think

00:41:25.320 that's that's good coming off the trudeau years people will be looking for someone

00:41:30.920 who will really deliver the good someone who is is strong who's competent uh who's committed to

00:41:36.120 public service uh not not to the image aspects of this and uh you know going going back to the

00:41:42.280 constitutional monarchy issue i always love this quote from winston churchill who said the great

00:41:46.280 the great thing about a constitutional monarchy is that when you win a battle you say god save

00:41:50.520 the queen and when you lose a battle you vote down the prime minister so uh so so that's that's

00:41:56.600 hopefully what we're uh what we're headed towards god save the queen and a new prime minister soon

00:42:01.000 enough sherwood park fort saskatchewan member of parliament garnett janice joining us here on true

00:42:06.360 north update garnett thanks very much for your time today really appreciate it thank you great

00:42:10.280 to be with you thanks yeah i do like that and i'm also alongside garnett candace and our audience

00:42:16.200 and that i i have a soft spot for those traditions i just feel like this speech tonight is very much

00:42:21.320 thumbing its nose at that very tradition? Well, the fact that the TV stations are letting Trudeau

00:42:27.040 sort of do what he wants to do, I mean, you're not going to say no, I guess, to a prime minister

00:42:31.560 who wants to give an urgent national address and claims, swears up and down, it's not political,

00:42:36.700 but at the same time, they're really just sort of feeding into the ego of this man who, you know,

00:42:41.740 can't even let a 150-year tradition of a country supersede his own ego and wanting to be the story,

00:42:49.820 the communicator the one who gets clipped the one on tv and not allowing his own governor general

00:42:55.020 who he selected which again goes back to his judgment well we have another guest here uh

00:43:00.220 catherine swift who is a former ceo of the canadian federation of independent business

00:43:04.860 and the current spokesperson for working canadians catherine thank you so much for

00:43:10.380 joining us and thank you for coming on the truth update i think you're muted there catherine

00:43:19.820 Yeah, we're having trouble hearing Catherine, so hopefully we can get that audio sorted out

00:43:26.260 there. Just pipe in there. I don't know if it's an issue with the mic or with Zoom, but

00:43:31.060 let's try to get that sorted out. One thing I will say, and I think this is a very important

00:43:36.900 part of this dialogue. We talked with Aaron Woodrick earlier about the effect on individual

00:43:42.800 taxpayers, and I think the business side is really key. There are stories that have come out in the

00:43:48.540 last few days, even about just the sheer volume of businesses, restaurant service sector,

00:43:54.100 recreation sector that are not able to reopen post COVID for, so for a lot of businesses and

00:44:00.240 a lot of communities across country, these problems are not theoretical. These are very

00:44:05.080 real issues here. And I don't know if you've seen this in your own life, Candace. I mean,

00:44:09.860 just last night, there was a business that I've frequented in my town of, or city, I guess,

00:44:14.440 of London that said it's not opening again. One story said 60% of restaurants may not open. I

00:44:21.360 mean, this is, again, a huge problem in all sectors. Absolutely. I mean, so there's a little

00:44:26.540 community of shops near where I live in Toronto that, you know, it's basically like what most of

00:44:33.580 downtown Toronto and sort of the urban part of Toronto is like. There's these little villages

00:44:37.760 throughout the city where there's two blocks of, you know, restaurants and barbershops and coffee

00:44:42.880 shops and all those kind of things and it's really stark i mean it's been like this since the

00:44:46.960 beginning of the pandemic but i would say about one in every three uh buildings is is just like

00:44:52.560 shuttered up uh closed down you know science saying we've moved completely online or we've

00:44:57.840 consolidated to one location or we've just gone out of business which again it's it's so it's so

00:45:03.280 heartbreaking to see the reality you know we could talk about the physical situation and how much

00:45:08.160 money the government is spending and how these CERB payments have really gotten out of control

00:45:13.280 but the reality for so many Canadians on the ground I mean it's a heart-wrenching decision

00:45:17.920 to have to close down a business that you've poured you know blood sweat and tears into for

00:45:23.280 years and years and years I mean I could sort of relate because I started True North and we employ

00:45:29.200 you know about 10 people or so full-time and you know to have that to build something like that

00:45:35.760 and then to have it taken away over something you know as as distant as a pandemic you have

00:45:40.720 no control over you know the government telling you you have to close down i just i just can't

00:45:45.440 imagine how heart-wrenching that would be and that really is a story of our economy happening

00:45:50.400 from coast to coast to coast i think it's really under reported so when you think of what the role

00:45:55.600 of government would be and what the purpose of a throne speech like this theoretically you know

00:46:00.560 the idea is to reach out and help people like that create the conditions for the economy to

00:46:05.120 thrive again figure out a way for us to all get moving again uh instead you know we're here talking

00:46:10.960 about the the partisan politics and and and how the parties are maneuvering and how trudeau is

00:46:16.560 spending pet issues and his idea about a green economy i mean it's it's all really beside the

00:46:21.520 point uh and and and i think that's that's really important point to talk about yeah and for a lot

00:46:28.080 of businesses they were already pretty on the fencer against justin trudeau going back to the

00:46:33.280 the big reforms that he and Bill Morneau had put through a few years ago, the famous tax cheat

00:46:37.760 dialogue. And then when you have what was already, it seemed like a pretty fundamental disrespect

00:46:42.500 for small business, which makes up just the vast majority of enterprise in Canada. And now a lot

00:46:48.260 of these businesses are saying, okay, where's our help? And we talked about this throughout the

00:46:51.940 early days of the pandemic, when a lot of the programs that were being rolled out, the programs

00:46:56.280 that led to that $350 billion deficit were really allowing a lot of business owners to fall through

00:47:02.760 the cracks and a lot of those cracks were never actually filled and to this day haven't been filled

00:47:08.760 yeah absolutely let's let's try to go back to Catherine Swift I think maybe we've resolved

00:47:12.840 your audio issues there Catherine are you uh are you with us I don't know you tell me okay yes you

00:47:19.400 are welcome welcome thanks very much for coming on Catherine here I was using my high-tech headphones

00:47:25.000 which have always worked fine in the past and now I'm just using my old computer mic and it seems to

00:47:29.960 be working so go figure it well we're glad to have you here tell us catherine where is your

00:47:35.560 view on on the state of business right now and what you'd like to see from the government to

00:47:40.920 really help a lot of the small businesses that we've been talking about in the last couple of

00:47:44.200 moments that are really struggling and in many cases are just completely hanging up the shingle

00:47:49.000 forever now yeah it's it's it's extremely extremely uh concerning from so many perspectives so this

00:47:55.560 is our this is the future of our economy as you know the small medium-sized business sector creates

00:47:59.960 uh more than half of the jobs at any given year and represents roughly half the economy

00:48:04.440 uh so it's a huge sector and they're getting hammered everybody's getting hammered and say

00:48:08.600 but they are getting hammered more than most and as you may have seen an organization that i advise

00:48:14.120 called the coalition of concerned manufacturers and businesses of canada uh put out a press

00:48:19.000 release yesterday talking exactly about this and how they're they're they're real concern and and

00:48:24.680 there's been an awful lot of trial balloons floated in the last few weeks uh that we're

00:48:29.000 going to have a focus on this so-called green economy and what this unfortunately seems to be

00:48:35.160 meaning is that we are going to spend tens of billions if not hundreds to further subsidize

00:48:42.440 industries that do not contribute to canada's bottom line and these are of course all of the

00:48:47.880 uh so-called uh green energy sources and all that kind of stuff we use the example of the green

00:48:53.560 energy act in ontario where all of the promises were not fulfilled it punished average citizens

00:49:00.120 horribly by by way of higher taxes higher much higher hydro rates uh businesses leaving the

00:49:05.480 country or just going under uh lost jobs and so on the notion that we want to replicate this

00:49:11.240 across the country frankly defies belief so it's the last thing we need to do we don't know yet

00:49:17.800 what's going to be in the throne speech but that has been broadcast or forecast i guess as a very

00:49:24.040 strong possibility so that's the wrong thing to do we feel the focus has to be on the the businesses

00:49:29.960 the industry sectors that actually contribute to the bottom line we know we're in big debt

00:49:35.160 personally government-wise and the economy's probably in depression right now what we need

00:49:40.600 are the contributors to be encouraged and not by throwing money at them but by removing red tape

00:49:46.680 streamlining a lot of the taxation system that exists, taking roadblocks out of our process for

00:49:53.240 developing new projects in Canada, and so on. So it doesn't mean throwing billions by any means

00:49:58.920 at it, but rather permitting them to do what they do best, which is create jobs and contribute lots

00:50:03.960 of tax dollars to get governments out of hock. Catherine, maybe you can give us a bit of an

00:50:08.680 assessment of the government's jobs so far. We were talking about it with our last guest or two

00:50:14.120 guests ago aaron woodrick of the canadian taxpayers federation about the idea that the

00:50:17.800 government was the one that shut down the economy they they were the ones that said look this pandemic

00:50:22.200 is mysterious we don't know what's going to happen we don't know the death rate we don't

00:50:25.160 know how communicable it is and and they took that risk so you know it was only sort of fair that they

00:50:31.080 that they provided uh countervailing uh assistance to to businesses to individuals who were forced

00:50:37.800 out of work can you give us an assessment of how that worked how how fairly distributed it was did

00:50:43.320 Did it actually help small and medium-sized business owners,

00:50:47.080 or in your mind, was it just sort of wasteful and ineffective?

00:50:52.240 Well, it did help some, to be fair,

00:50:55.200 but unfortunately, most of the programs

00:50:58.020 that were directed at small businesses

00:51:00.300 were quite complicated.

00:51:02.580 There was often a delay in getting the actual details

00:51:06.000 of how a business was to apply for it,

00:51:07.700 and then they have to deal with complicated bureaucracies

00:51:10.160 and so on and so forth.

00:51:11.080 was a total contrast to the serb you know the sort of general flow of fire hoses full of money

00:51:19.480 at pretty much everybody that applied whether they really needed it or not and i'm sure a lot of you

00:51:25.000 know people living in their parents basements are probably doing better than they've ever done in

00:51:28.280 their life in fact i know of particular cases that that's actually true um but everyone knows that we

00:51:34.440 needed support from governments in general in this but in overall the support to small medium-sized

00:51:42.360 businesses was overly complex the rules were vague often it didn't apply particularly well to the

00:51:48.360 majority of businesses for example one ex one instance was just to give you an example a business

00:51:53.480 have to have a business account at a bank a lot of small firms don't have that they deal through

00:51:58.520 their personal account so they were totally ineligible to apply you know for for wage

00:52:03.160 subsidy programs for example so and there was a lot of other examples like that so i frankly as

00:52:08.440 someone who's worked with them on behalf of the small business community for decades now i think

00:52:13.800 it was merely consistent with this government's approach right from when it was elected from the

00:52:17.720 get-go they don't like small business uh they they have denigrated them many times they were called

00:52:23.240 tax cheats as you may recall back in back in the early days they they are not recognized for the

00:52:29.000 massive contributions that they make to the economy and these pandemic related programs

00:52:34.040 nearly was a continuation of the disrespect that this liberal government has for small

00:52:39.000 and medium-sized business in Canada. And just as a follow-up to that, Catherine,

00:52:43.960 the $2,000 sure payment, you said that folks sitting at home in their parents' basements do

00:52:48.200 better than ever. My mother-in-law runs a small gift furniture shop in Toronto and she had a really

00:52:55.400 hard time getting employees once the economy opened back up. Some of her part-time and casual

00:53:01.400 workers, you know, some of them are kind of like stay-at-home mom types and women who would go out 1.00

00:53:05.880 and work a few hours a week or whatever, but she basically just couldn't convince any of her

00:53:09.720 employees to come back to work because they were being so well compensated. Can you maybe talk

00:53:14.440 about how those kind of unintended consequences have an impact on the economy and on small

00:53:19.960 business owners in particular yeah and and that has been a very common story unfortunately

00:53:25.000 that an awful lot of people have been um and and part of it too is that people are still worried

00:53:30.600 right i mean and people are still legitimately worried so i i think you've got that fundamental

00:53:35.720 justifiable concern about this pandemic and disease and you know will i get it if i go back

00:53:40.920 to work and then you've got coupled on top of that the incentive to stay home with things like

00:53:46.760 serve so uh it'll be interesting again to see in the throne speech today is there going to be

00:53:51.400 actually a continuation of serve it was sort of supposed to sort of morph into an ei something to

00:53:57.240 do with the ei system and expanded you know redefined ei system so that'll be interesting

00:54:01.560 to see but no candace that that problem is widespread that people do not want to go back

00:54:07.800 um and and and it's it's been compounded uh by the fact that they can stay at home and collect

00:54:14.760 two thousand dollars a month now mind you everybody can say oh well nobody can live on two thousand

00:54:20.280 dollars a month but an awful lot of people they're not living on it they're a part-time worker like

00:54:25.080 you say it could be a stay-at-home mom likes to supplement their income could be a student working 0.99

00:54:29.800 part-time and and and so on so that two thousand a month given that they also don't have employment

00:54:35.640 expenses because you go to work you also have to pay for transportation you know you have additional

00:54:39.560 costs as well that's enough to keep people at home in so many in so many instances like that

00:54:45.640 and unfortunately when we look at trying to dig out of this mess that we're in economically

00:54:50.520 that is going to be a drag on how quickly we can do that and then if we have a so-called green

00:54:55.640 recovery where we're going even more into debt to subsidize money losing businesses if we're

00:55:00.680 going to discourage the businesses that actually contribute to the economy's bottom line and also

00:55:06.760 discourage people from going back to work. I'm probably going to be long dead before we're

00:55:11.960 even out of this horrible economic situation. It's going to be so very slow and protracted

00:55:17.240 because of bad policy. If you're just tuning in, the feed is up and we are awaiting the arrival

00:55:24.040 of the Governor-General to the Senate chamber. She is on the parliamentary precinct, so she has

00:55:28.520 arrived to Parliament Hill but has not yet entered. Oh, it's actually just entering now. You can see

00:55:33.000 the senate you can see the the usher of the black rod so things are going to get going very shortly

00:55:37.960 and we'll cut to the speech live once it's beginning before we we get there Catherine you

00:55:42.760 talked about some of the specific problems with the federal government's business relief plans or

00:55:48.200 purported business relief plans let's talk about the broader climate right now because I mean

00:55:53.400 economics are are tough in situations like this for a lot of businesses this is not the fault of

00:55:58.840 government necessarily there are a lot of consumer behaviors that are changing how can the government

00:56:05.000 keeping in mind the the age-old adage that government doesn't create jobs but what can

00:56:09.720 the government do to help that climate that would start bringing investment back right now because

00:56:14.360 there is going to be a growth phase and we want to make sure we can get the most out of that

00:56:18.520 absolutely and and i think the thing that we also need to acknowledge is that even before the

00:56:23.240 pandemic hit our economy was already going south and and that was partly uh cyclical that'll happen

00:56:29.240 anyway but a lot of it was because of bad policies by this trudeau government we have driven about

00:56:34.760 200 billion dollars in investment out of the country over the last five years a lot of it's

00:56:39.880 been resource related but not exclusively because once businesses see that you they are discouraged

00:56:45.080 from undertaking projects in any sector of the economy then they're going they're going to say

00:56:50.120 uh i'm not going to take a chance and of course all the pandemic situation does is multiply that

00:56:55.800 a thousand fold and when we've got things like hydro rates in ontario a key manufacturing hub

00:57:01.000 of the country uh still dis disincenting existing businesses from expanding uh and even driving them

00:57:07.560 out of the country and also discouraging foreign investment into into the province and the country

00:57:12.440 in general we've still got some pretty serious issues here so going forward um once again avoiding

00:57:19.640 the green trap which has never produced the wonderful benefits it's supposed to and and

00:57:24.600 the pandemic hasn't changed the rules of economics unfortunately that will continue to be the case

00:57:29.960 uh let's start reducing uh the the uh amount of um regulation and and imposition of government

00:57:37.480 when a business tries to establish itself and tries to get a project going let's start to you

00:57:43.400 know get getting rid of the discrimination against our resource sector when we're importing tons of

00:57:49.640 oil products from abroad, from many jurisdictions that are much worse environmental actors than

00:57:57.640 Canada is, for instance. Let's get serious, finally, about interprovincial trade barriers

00:58:02.500 in Canada. The whole regulatory red tape burden is something that this Trudeau government,

00:58:07.420 previous governments have made some headway, but unfortunately, backsliding has happened.

00:58:12.140 And so measures like that can take place without an expenditure of tax dollars, indeed,

00:58:17.740 with a savings of tax dollars if they're done properly by governments so the kind of policies

00:58:22.740 that encourage those positive business contributors to the bottom line to establish themselves create

00:58:29.440 jobs and grow because that's the only thing more government spending sure isn't going to get us out 0.52

00:58:33.780 of this recession what we need is the private sector to step up to the plate and the private

00:58:38.760 sector actors that are not dependent on government subsidies absolutely andrew do we have time for

00:58:44.720 more questions or are we yeah we do just as the uh the for those uh interested in the procedure

00:58:49.980 right now the members of the parliament or members of the lower house the house of commons are going

00:58:54.740 to be coming into the senate chambers as this convention it's a joint session so the governor

00:58:59.560 general has arrived and that part is concluded but this is a long way of saying yes we have a

00:59:04.600 couple more moments okay great gatherine i was wondering i saw a tweet or a little uh spat that

00:59:09.320 had on Twitter with Goldie Heider, someone I really respect, the President of the Business

00:59:14.920 Council of Canada, and he had posted an essay on LinkedIn that was from one of the CEOs of

00:59:22.840 a small business that he represents, sort of saying, look, we're not all in this together.

00:59:26.840 The idea that we're all in this together is a bit of a fallacy because private sector,

00:59:31.880 small business owners are really suffering. There's a lot of sacrifices. There's really a

00:59:36.200 a lot of uncertainty. And the flip side of that, you have government workers that are really sort

00:59:42.360 of more protected. You've seen some pretty outrageous stories over the summer. True North

00:59:46.880 broke the story that the CRA employees recently got a 10% pay increase this summer in the midst

00:59:52.500 of the pandemic. So really, you know, the economy is not evenly distributed. We're not all in this

00:59:58.900 together. Some people are doing much, much better under the COVID situation. I was wondering if you

01:00:03.360 you could speak a little bit to your views on this

01:00:06.960 and that sort of distinction

01:00:08.420 between public and private sector workers.

01:00:10.360 Yeah, it's a huge problem in Canada.

01:00:13.160 It's been a problem in other countries too.

01:00:14.800 Other countries tend to have mostly acted on it

01:00:16.860 more than Canada has.

01:00:18.300 And there's a lot of reasons underlying it,

01:00:20.740 but we have very strong public sector unions in Canada

01:00:24.340 that are able to convince governments to do things

01:00:27.420 that actually damage 80% of the population

01:00:30.520 because that's the proportion

01:00:31.560 does not work for government 80 of us are in the private sector paying for government there has

01:00:36.760 been for decades a serious differential between what the same job if you look at the same job in

01:00:42.440 the private and public sector the public sector makes between if you count in benefits and

01:00:47.000 pensions are huge of course if you count in benefits the differential is about 25 to 40

01:00:52.760 it's massive depending on the particular job and of course this was brought home so profoundly

01:00:58.600 in the pandemic situation where private sector people were scrambling not working at all you

01:01:04.120 know scrambling to to get their groceries in the door and the public sector were sitting at home

01:01:08.840 on full pay full benefits and so on and and why why we can't actually be in this together

01:01:16.520 and why couldn't public sector workers take advantage of the same programs that everybody

01:01:21.000 else was expected to because it's it's certainly not a it is not a sustainable long-term situation

01:01:28.040 when the sector of the economy the government is uh sucking up more money than the private sector

01:01:34.680 who's paying for it can actually produce and that's the situation we have it's been it's been

01:01:39.000 that way for a long time but i think the spotlight has really been thrown on it and one of the key

01:01:43.320 factors here is the public sector pensions most of which are by the way grossly underfunded uh

01:01:49.000 they're they're in big deficits just to give you an example canada post about 10 billion dollars

01:01:54.280 underfunded uh that's just one federal agency you can cite a whole bunch more and a lot of actuaries

01:02:01.400 have actually told me at times they think that is the under unfunded liabilities are actually worse

01:02:07.480 than our overall debt as a country which is pretty frightening um what is gonna they're they're

01:02:12.760 invested in precisely the same financial markets we all are what's going to happen post pandemic

01:02:17.720 they're all going to be even more underwater than they are now.

01:02:22.320 Are we, the private sector taxpayer, going to be somehow expected while scrambling to survive

01:02:28.740 through this mess to make up the difference in these public sector pensions while our savings

01:02:34.040 for retirement have also been decimated? I would hope not. And I hope Canadians would 1.00

01:02:39.000 really, really get angry about this situation. And from a sensible policy standpoint,

01:02:44.820 what a perfect time to make the reforms to public sector pensions that should have been made years

01:02:50.920 ago, but here is the perfect opportunity to do it and restore fairness, because that's what we're

01:02:55.980 talking about here, sustainability and basic fairness. That's actually an amazing point you

01:03:02.200 raise, because we've been hearing a lot of the time, especially from the green activists,

01:03:06.320 that this is the time that we can rebuild the economy from the ashes in whichever way we want

01:03:11.440 it. And they've been saying we can rebuild a green economy. And I'm like, okay, if we're

01:03:15.840 rebuilding and we're starting from scratch, why not start from scratch in all of the ways you're

01:03:20.100 discussing? Why does our start from scratch have to be moving further to the left instead of saying,

01:03:24.600 yeah, let's actually start with a deregulated area with more private sector involvement instead of

01:03:30.960 public sector, looking at pension reform and all of that. If everything's on the table, why are we

01:03:35.240 not hearing about this yeah and and and taking that further to the game using the pension example

01:03:42.400 an awful lot of major institutions and this is what mark carney's doing now i used to meet with

01:03:47.180 mark when he was at bank of canada i think he's lost his mind lately but anyway he used to be a

01:03:51.120 pretty sensible guy um at what you see a lot of universities they're divesting their pension funds

01:03:57.320 these are public pension funds that we taxpayers are on the hook for they're divesting them from

01:04:02.380 money-making industries like the resource sector into green industries money losing industries so

01:04:08.960 in other words these pension funds are not going to make the same rate of return that they need to

01:04:13.360 make to stay solvent if they started off solvent in the first place and so somehow once again if

01:04:18.900 they're if they're going to be pristine green guys is that oh taxpayers by the way we're losing money 0.99

01:04:24.520 because we're green now but hey you're going to ante up and cover off these losses aren't you

01:04:28.660 You know, this kind of stuff is pure madness. And for any government to go in this direction,

01:04:34.360 it defies belief. And just to be fair, though, the whole environmental debate has been polarized

01:04:40.860 so badly that you're either totally one end or totally the other. And of course, there's a lot

01:04:45.180 of middle ground. These manufacturers in this coalition of concerned manufacturers I was

01:04:49.420 telling you about, a lot of them are doing such sensible, positive environmental things in their

01:04:54.280 businesses doesn't involve a carbon tax doesn't involve measures that frankly don't really produce

01:04:59.100 environmental benefits but they might make people feel better there's a lot of things that can be

01:05:03.740 done that don't involve impoverishing average middle-class people through taxes through

01:05:09.820 exorbitant hydro rates and so on uh but still accomplishing objectives and and moving us toward

01:05:15.560 a better future that unfortunately is not what is rumored to going to be in this throw and speak but

01:05:21.160 guess we'll see soon right yeah i saw i saw a report that said that syncrude which is a private

01:05:26.040 uh oil and gas developer it planted 12 million trees well you know we just had that story that

01:05:31.320 justin trudeau pledged to be planting 2 billion and he didn't plan any so you know there you go

01:05:36.600 as an example of a private company doing a lot better than what the government does well catherine

01:05:43.640 you know this is a a show on the throne speech and it looks like some of the ceremony again is

01:05:48.360 is going underway here uh do you have any any expectations or are there anything specific

01:05:54.280 that you would like to see from this throne speech to specifically help uh enable that private sector

01:05:59.880 recovery and to help small businesses well i i think it's probably more case of what i hope i

01:06:04.520 don't see which is a lot of this you know re rebooting the economy in a green what is it called

01:06:11.240 build back better is the the trendy little term they're using these days resilient recovery i i

01:06:16.840 recently actually looked over that that's the group that was comprised of the gerald butts and

01:06:21.400 bruce lorry and the people that were behind the green energy act in ontario uh you know they're

01:06:26.360 making exactly the same promises as they made back 14 or whatever 15 years ago none of which actually

01:06:31.880 came to pass but now oh now it's gonna happen this time this time it'll happen so i i don't

01:06:37.080 know how many times uh you know we want to believe the same the same stories that never never turn

01:06:42.040 out being true but i mean i would love to see some some policies about government looking to

01:06:47.800 be more sensible working toward i mean a balanced budget is clearly a long long time away but at

01:06:53.240 least putting in some measures to constrain government spending to actually have a plan

01:06:57.720 to actually have a sensible plan to get people back to work in the private sector the ones that

01:07:02.600 contribute to bringing down government debt and so on and and creating uh you know the kind of

01:07:07.960 employment that we need in our economy what is interesting though i was just thinking the other

01:07:12.280 day this whole green stuff and all this massive spending and you know we're going to have uh

01:07:18.280 suddenly a pharmacare which is going to be a sinkhole for money and we already have pretty

01:07:22.600 decent pharmacare in canada it's only a handful of people that aren't covered by the current system

01:07:27.400 um uh whether it's a guaranteed annual income the other thing candace i saw something you wrote

01:07:32.520 recently on that and and what a disaster that would be for canada um but you know a lot of

01:07:38.680 these things that were rumored a couple of weeks ago the upsurge in pandemic cases could turn out

01:07:45.000 i think this is a risky thing to say but could end up saving us from the worst of trudeau's fantasy

01:07:51.720 policy dreams because now he has to pay attention and deservedly so to the the imminent pandemic

01:07:59.640 threat rather than these lofty mega mega billion dollar plans that he seemed to be musing about a

01:08:06.840 few weeks ago so wouldn't that be ironic if if the pandemic turned out in the long run

01:08:12.200 to save our bacon from bad policy well you know it would it would force some sort of responsibility

01:08:19.640 onto our prime minister to actually do you know what what's right for the country as opposed to

01:08:24.200 following his you know every ideological dream of liberals to to impose their government well

01:08:29.880 Catherine Swift thank you so much for your time it's really great to have that perspective

01:08:33.640 from small businesses uh why don't you let our viewers know where they can find you online

01:08:38.760 oh well i'm on uh twitter is at working canadian cdns or my personal account is swifty s-w-i-f-t-o-1

01:08:46.840 and um i also want to mention the coalition of concern manufacturers which is at ccmbc

01:08:54.200 CCNBC yeah well thank you so much for your time today thank you thank you very much Catherine

01:09:01.880 Swift is wonderful last time I spoke to Catherine it was actually in Alberta at the one of the

01:09:06.260 Alberta independence conferences and she had some great thoughts about all of the economic

01:09:10.420 independence issues that really come about when we're talking about good government which is

01:09:15.540 certainly something we would like to see in this throne speech for those of you who are tuning in

01:09:20.420 we are awaiting the commencement of the speech from the throne. Julie Payette, the Governor

01:09:25.280 General, is in the Senate chambers right now alongside Justin Trudeau. Currently, the members

01:09:30.420 of Parliament who are going to be attending are parading from West Block to where the Senate is.

01:09:36.600 Now, the interesting thing about this is that the Senate and the House of Commons used to be

01:09:40.500 on opposite sides of the same building, which is Centre Block. Unfortunately, that's going through

01:09:45.000 a massive renovation now. So I believe everything's actually in different buildings. So the ceremonial

01:09:49.940 march from one chamber to the other is going to take a little bit longer than usual. And of all

01:09:55.260 the things they've adapted for this particular speech from the throne, the distance and timing

01:10:01.380 was not one of them. And this is actually just on a procedural note, an interesting point here,

01:10:06.100 it would normally be a full complement of the Senate, the House of Commons, they'd all be in

01:10:11.980 there. And there is still going to be some representation, but not full representation. So

01:10:17.800 we heard actually there was a lottery for who in the Senate would be there, a House of Commons as

01:10:22.840 well, very bare bones attendance. So normally it's actually quite cramped because you're fitting in a

01:10:27.780 chamber that's meant to have, you know, less than 120 people, the 120 plus the 338 MPs, whereas this

01:10:34.780 time it's actually still going to be very under capacity. But again, I mean, this ceremony is

01:10:40.080 part of the ritual and routine, which to bring us back to a point we raised earlier, all the more of

01:10:44.500 question as to why Justin Trudeau feels that he needs to do another speech of his own on top of

01:10:49.280 this. Yeah, again, it does take away from the traditions of our country. And, you know, it is

01:10:56.120 sort of almost archaic to see some of them, Andrew, when you see the marching and the chalice that

01:11:04.060 they carry in and all that kind of stuff. But again, it's sort of it's humbling as well. It

01:11:08.620 reminds us that our institutions and our traditions are,

01:11:12.320 you know, predate us and they will post date us

01:11:14.840 long after we're gone.

01:11:16.360 Hopefully, God willing,

01:11:17.600 we'll continue to have these traditions.

01:11:18.880 So it is nice to see,

01:11:20.080 although I will point out that we were told

01:11:22.860 that the throne speech itself was going to be starting

01:11:25.380 at 2.30, so it looks like they are running

01:11:28.480 a little bit late, but that's okay.

01:11:30.340 There's plenty to talk about and plenty to digest there.

01:11:34.600 So what did you make of Catherine Swiss remarks there

01:11:37.660 about the sort of lack of help for small business owners.

01:11:42.580 Well, it's important.

01:11:43.420 And it's an issue that we were covering

01:11:44.940 throughout the briefings that Justin Trudeau was doing.

01:11:47.580 And I've talked about it on my show as well.

01:11:49.220 And I've just talked about it in my life

01:11:51.380 with business owners that I encounter.

01:11:52.980 And a lot of them I saw were actually reopening early on

01:11:56.420 at a loss just because they felt they needed to be present

01:11:59.540 and they needed to be doing something.

01:12:01.020 And I've had a number of business owners

01:12:03.160 that I've spoken to and that have reached out to me

01:12:05.300 in response to my show that have said

01:12:07.200 something very similar to what I believe it was your mother-in-law said that, you know,

01:12:10.400 they can't find anyone to come back and work for them because it's easier, especially for

01:12:14.420 part-time labor to take the $2,000 a month and to just rely on CERB instead of going back into

01:12:20.180 the workforce, especially with how challenging it is that, you know, every business has had to adapt

01:12:24.840 and all of that. And there are some businesses that, you know, quite frankly, their business

01:12:29.560 model is not viable when you have to mandate social distancing. And just one example of this

01:12:35.520 uh laser quest which is you know a big laser tag company the laser quest in my city announced

01:12:41.020 yesterday that it wouldn't be reopening because they just felt there was no way they could do

01:12:44.300 their business with all of the social distancing requirements and there was no way they could

01:12:48.620 exist as a business if they stay closed indefinitely which it seems like they're they're

01:12:53.220 having to do now and you know it's not to say that they're alone in that i think that's precisely the

01:12:58.620 problem that so many businesses are in the same boat right now and there really isn't an easy

01:13:02.920 solution. Well, absolutely. And I think you picked up on something important. I know this with

01:13:08.060 myself and certainly with my mother-in-law who runs a little furniture store is that she has to 1.00

01:13:14.720 work. It's not just that she has to financially, but there's something within her that she's not

01:13:22.180 fulfilled unless she's running her business. So even if a small business owner has to go

01:13:26.760 and run at a loss or they lose money a little bit you know it's impossible for people like that

01:13:33.340 people who are driven people who want to uh provide something and have that service and

01:13:37.980 run their own business they can't sit still and so in some ways it's maddening for people like

01:13:42.520 that to have to stay at home because they want to be out there they want to be building their

01:13:45.820 business they want to be doing what they can to get their business back in action and i can't

01:13:49.920 imagine the frustration that you would feel knowing that you can't just because of these

01:13:54.500 government rules and these government mandates. And I have to say, Andrew, the whole talk here

01:13:59.300 in Ontario of a second lockdown and another sort of surge in cases, to me, it's just so over the

01:14:07.520 top. I feel like we talk about this a lot during the early days of pandemic. We didn't really know

01:14:12.540 how dangerous COVID was, how deadly it was going to be. A lot of it seemed to be overblown. It

01:14:18.740 seems at this point that the consensus is pretty much, you know, look, it spreads really fast,

01:14:23.960 but most people recover. Most people are okay. So the idea that the government is going to throw us

01:14:29.960 into another economic lockdown, it just seems absolutely horrible, unconscionable that the

01:14:38.780 government would actually do that. And I really, really hope that, you know, Doug Ford, the Premier

01:14:43.440 of Ontario, thinks twice before taking such drastic actions, just especially, look, no one

01:14:48.520 wants to get COVID, you know, definitely it's killed a lot of people, especially elderly

01:14:53.800 people, people over the age of 65 or 70. But you know, for the for the majority of people

01:14:59.360 in working age, the threat isn't really death. I mean, there could be long term health consequences

01:15:04.940 and lung capacity and things like that, we still don't really know. But the idea that

01:15:09.080 they would shut down the economy again, now knowing what we know that COVID isn't nearly

01:15:14.200 as deadly as we thought. It doesn't affect nearly as many people in that core working group as we

01:15:19.880 thought. I can't imagine the public reaction if governments like Ford and Trudeau seek to take

01:15:28.360 those kind of measures again. Yeah, I think there's a lot of truth to that. And also,

01:15:34.040 what I would underscore from those comments is just that many businesses, as I've mentioned,

01:15:39.000 barely survived or didn't survive the first lockdown. So, you know, for example, I, there

01:15:43.880 were a couple of restaurants, one in particular that my wife and I love going to, they actually

01:15:47.480 held off on reopening because they were concerned about a so-called second wave. And it was only in

01:15:52.860 August that they actually, actually beginning of September that they opened their doors.

01:15:56.780 And now I think there's a lot of regret on many parts of many businesses, because now the business

01:16:02.920 narrative that we're getting from the provincial government in Ontario is that we are going to

01:16:06.700 potentially have another round of shutdown and if that happens businesses that again were only just

01:16:13.140 barely surviving it is going to be the final nail in the coffin. Right which is which is why I just

01:16:19.880 don't know how the government can again seek to justify something like that and from a financial

01:16:24.840 perspective Andrew we know just how much the government spent and how unaffordable the CERB

01:16:31.340 was the Canadian Emergency Relief Benefit. I can't think of the number off the top of my head but

01:16:36.040 I think the program ended up costing something like 70, 76 or 80, somewhere in that billion

01:16:42.880 dollar rate. At one point, I think there were 8 million applicants and that would have been

01:16:46.700 just, I mean, 8 million times 2000 and there's your answer. Yeah. And I think because it ended

01:16:51.480 up running for 26 weeks, not the original. I think originally it was only supposed to go for 14 and

01:16:56.120 then they moved it up to 20 and then 24 or 26. I'm pretty sure I recently looked up the figure and it

01:17:01.880 was somewhere in the $80 billion ballpark just for 26 weeks.

01:17:05.840 I mean, how is that possibly sustainable over the long run?

01:17:09.500 They wouldn't be able to roll out nearly as generous

01:17:13.420 of a compensation scheme.

01:17:15.400 And if that's the case, again,

01:17:16.940 you're just a recipe for disaster.

01:17:20.360 And put on top of all that, Andrew,

01:17:22.640 the idea that basically we had a summer of unrest.

01:17:26.600 I mean, it was jolted in the United States.

01:17:29.020 We saw what started out as maybe peaceful protests

01:17:33.160 quickly, very quickly turned into violent riots

01:17:36.300 that have spread and made several US cities,

01:17:39.100 frankly, ungovernable.

01:17:40.760 And I think a lot of that had to do with the idea

01:17:42.940 that all of these young people were sitting at home,

01:17:45.000 that they were told that they couldn't work,

01:17:46.200 that the jobs weren't there.

01:17:47.480 People were bored, people were restless.

01:17:50.580 And because of that, obviously there are lots

01:17:53.820 of other factors as well, but it was sort of the perfect storm

01:17:57.340 for creating this really chaotic social moment

01:18:01.060 and this culture war is exploding onto our streets.

01:18:03.360 And I think that, again, a large part of that

01:18:05.480 was simply the fact that governments

01:18:07.120 were paying people to stay at home.

01:18:09.120 Well, people need more than that in their lives.

01:18:11.900 They need to have meaning, they need to have fulfillment.

01:18:14.460 Going out and working is part of that.

01:18:17.000 And I think it creates a really dangerous precedent,

01:18:19.220 the idea that we're just gonna live in this COVID world

01:18:22.400 until there's a vaccination

01:18:24.320 where no one's really gonna work

01:18:25.500 the government's just going to rack up record levels of debt. I just I can't imagine that being

01:18:30.520 a sustainable, you know, anything for having a stable society. I just can't see how it's going

01:18:39.680 to play out, you know, six months a year from now. Yeah. And I remember there was that segment

01:18:44.500 on CBC with Rosie Barton, where she kind of laughed at a student that had said he would

01:18:49.980 take a farming or agriculture job if it was available to him. So there is this mentality

01:18:54.680 in a lot of people that, you know, in times of economic hardship, certain people shouldn't just

01:18:59.520 take jobs that are available. Right. Well, we look down at certain kinds of jobs, and that's just

01:19:04.620 sort of, you know, the predisposition of a lot of the sort of Laurentian elite here in Central

01:19:10.900 Canada. Unfortunately, it looks like we are being joined by our true north colleague, Anthony Fury.

01:19:16.860 Anthony, thank you so much for joining the show. Hey, Candice, great to be here. You're doing some

01:19:20.780 great stuff. Well, thank you. What about Andrew? Come on. Yeah, Andrew's all right. Good to see us

01:19:28.380 here. Good to see you. Well, thanks for joining us. I think we're still waiting for this show to

01:19:33.680 get underway, Anthony, but maybe you can give us, you've been writing a lot about it in the Toronto

01:19:37.940 Sun and doing reports for True North, but what are your predictions and what are you expecting

01:19:42.160 today out of this throne speech? Well, you know, it's unsure because for a few weeks there, we had

01:19:46.920 a lot of unnamed liberal sources stepping forward, kind of saying, I think this is going to be too

01:19:52.060 rich for our blood. This is going to be too socialist, too spendaholic, too much green agenda.

01:19:57.000 A few of those people were probably BFFs with Bill Morneau feeling a little spurned. So you

01:20:01.400 have to factor that in. But I still think, you know, they were sounding the alarm. There are

01:20:06.020 still a few, you know, Paul Martin style liberals in there in caucus and in staff. So they sounded

01:20:11.780 the alarm. And then apparently the economists read Trudeau, the riot act. So maybe they're

01:20:15.520 stepping away from that, but then maybe us being told they're stepping away from that is also a

01:20:20.020 bit of a spin or a sell. So, I mean, that's the question, just kind of how down the rabbit hole

01:20:24.960 are we? How, you know, how far, you know, Alice in Wonderland socialism are we going to head right

01:20:30.040 now? And I don't know. I'll be looking with great interest. What would you, we've talked about,

01:20:38.880 and you've in particular done a great video on this a couple of weeks ago, that Trudeau's got

01:20:43.340 something big planned. And I guess, do you think this is going to be a pretty radical or sizable

01:20:48.780 shift in the government's agenda? Or do you think this will ultimately be just kind of a safe

01:20:53.160 approach, repackaging things that are already out there? Yeah, and that's the question. I mean,

01:20:58.720 if you believe that, okay, this is a crisis and crisis is an opportunity, then yeah, I think

01:21:05.120 they're definitely going to show their true colors. And, you know, Justin Trudeau, we know he's more

01:21:10.880 left wing than any past liberal leader sorry i got to cut you off there it appears the speech

01:21:15.020 from the throne has actually commenced so we're going to go to that live

01:21:18.500 honorable senators members of the house of comments

01:21:28.380 fellow canadians ladies and gentlemen mesdames et messieurs

01:21:34.400 Every day on our shared planet, millions face hardships that test the human spirit.

01:21:44.360 Extreme weather, wildfires, poverty, conflicts, discrimination and inequalities.

01:21:52.160 Rarely though, has all of humanity faced a single common insidious enemy, an invisible

01:21:58.800 enemy that respects no borders, thrives anywhere, and hits anyone.

01:22:04.300 Shared planet, millions face hardships that test the human spirit.

01:22:08.080 And resolve of every order of government, of every community, and of every one of us.

01:22:15.880 We don't decide when hardship comes, but here in Canada, we have decided how we wanted to

01:22:21.860 address it.

01:22:23.180 We have adapted in remarkable ways.

01:22:25.920 We Canadians did our part.

01:22:31.240 We changed our habits, postponed our plans, switched to teleworking or had to completely

01:22:38.740 reinvent our work.

01:22:41.360 All this while caring for one another.

01:22:47.180 We owe an immense debt to those who served and still serve on the front lines, to healthcare

01:22:53.540 personnel and essential workers, women and men in uniform, volunteers and leaders

01:23:00.980 everywhere in the country. There has been a lot of suffering and we all mourn those

01:23:07.920 who have passed. We trust science to lead the fight until a safe and effective

01:23:13.480 vaccine becomes available but until then we must keep our guards up using the

01:23:21.060 tools that are available to us now, such as testing, treatments, and physical

01:23:26.800 distancing measures. Like a reed in high winds, we may sway, but we will not break.

01:23:34.500 Because our roots are firmly in place, our goals clear, and because we have

01:23:40.440 hope. The hope that lifts the soul on dark days and keeps us focused on the

01:23:46.700 future. Canadians have lived through uncertain times before and have always

01:23:54.260 prevailed because determination, concern for others, courage and common sense

01:23:59.300 define our nation. Bring all those qualities to bear once again and continue

01:24:05.240 to work for the common good and for a better, safer and more just society. This

01:24:12.460 This is who we are and what will see us through to brighter days.

01:24:20.000 For over 150 years, parliamentarians have worked together to chart Canada's path forward.

01:24:27.540 Your predecessors met when Confederation was only a few months old, setting the course

01:24:33.100 for a young country.

01:24:35.140 They stood united through Canada's toughest days, leading the nation through wars and

01:24:39.860 depression.

01:24:41.560 And as they did, each parliamentarian was called to meet their times.

01:24:46.180 Today, Canadians expect you to do the same.

01:24:50.440 They expect you to work together on their behalf and meet this crucial moment.

01:24:56.540 Less than a year ago, we gathered here for a throne speech to open the 43rd Parliament.

01:25:02.620 Since then, our realities have changed.

01:25:05.880 And so must our approach.

01:25:08.500 Over 9,000 Canadians have died in six months.

01:25:14.180 For our neighbours in the United States, this figure is over 200,000.

01:25:18.820 Globally, it's nearly a million.

01:25:21.700 But these are not just numbers.

01:25:24.640 These are friends and family, neighbours and colleagues.

01:25:28.700 The pandemic is the story of parents who have died alone, without loved ones to hold their

01:25:33.760 hands.

01:25:35.260 is a story of kids who have gone months without seeing friends of workers who have lost their jobs.

01:25:44.140 The last six months have laid bare fundamental gaps in our society and in societies around the

01:25:49.260 world. This pandemic has been hard for everyone but for those who were already struggling the

01:25:55.500 burden has been even heavier. For parents and especially moms who are facing impossible choices

01:26:04.460 between kids and career. For racialized Canadians and Indigenous peoples who are confronted

01:26:12.220 by systemic barriers. For young people who are worried about what their future will hold.

01:26:18.000 For seniors who are isolated, frightened and most at risk. And for workers who, while earning

01:26:25.480 the lowest wages in the most precarious sectors, have been on the front lines of the pandemic.

01:26:31.920 We must address these challenges of today, but we also cannot forget about the tests

01:26:37.360 of the future.

01:26:39.040 The world came into this pandemic facing the risks and consequences of climate change.

01:26:44.340 A lesson that COVID-19 has taught us is that we need to match challenges with decisiveness

01:26:50.960 and determination.

01:26:52.620 On all of these fronts, health and the economy, equality and the environment, we must take

01:26:57.580 bold action.

01:26:59.400 government will meet these challenges the government's approach will have four foundations

01:27:07.400 the first foundation of this plan is to fight the pandemic and saves save lives the second

01:27:14.760 foundation of the government's plan is supporting people and businesses through this crisis as long

01:27:20.280 as it lasts whatever it takes effectively dealing with a health crisis is the best thing we can do

01:27:27.640 for the economy. Government action has already helped Canadians stay safe and buffered the

01:27:33.400 worst economic impacts. The third foundation is to build back better to create a stronger,

01:27:41.080 more resilient Canada. To do this, we must keep strengthening the middle class and helping

01:27:47.300 people working hard to join in and continue creating jobs and building long-term competitiveness

01:27:54.240 with clean growth. We must also keep building safer communities for everyone.

01:28:02.440 The fourth and final foundation of this plan is to stand up for who we are as Canadians.

01:28:09.660 We cannot forget what has made us a country that is welcoming, a country that celebrates

01:28:15.660 two official languages, that achieves progress on gender equality, walks the road of reconciliation

01:28:23.400 and fights discrimination of every kind.

01:28:28.940 This is our generation's crossroads.

01:28:32.120 Do we move Canada forward or let people be left behind?

01:28:36.500 Do we come out of this stronger or paper over the cracks that the crisis is exposed?

01:28:44.400 This is the time to remember who we are as Canadians.

01:28:49.240 This is the opportunity to contain the global crisis and build back better together.

01:28:57.340 The first foundation of the government's approach is protecting Canadians from COVID-19.

01:29:02.880 This is priority number one.

01:29:05.940 It is the job of the federal government to look out for all Canadians and especially

01:29:10.860 for our most vulnerable.

01:29:13.160 We need to work together because beating this virus is a Team Canada effort.

01:29:20.800 Over the last six months, Canadians have stood united and strong.

01:29:25.820 Their actions embody what has always been the purpose of the federal government, bringing

01:29:30.400 Canadians together to achieve common goals.

01:29:35.120 Personal protective equipment has been shipped across the country.

01:29:38.760 Members of the Canadian Forces were there in long-term care homes.

01:29:43.820 Close to 9 million Canadians were helped with the Canada Emergency Response Benefit,

01:29:49.900 and over 3.5 million jobs were supported by the wage subsidy.

01:29:54.440 The government will continue to have people's backs, just like Canadians have each other's backs. 0.77

01:30:01.500 Through the first wave, contact tracing and testing ramped up across the country.

01:30:06.820 The surge this fall further enforces what we already know, that we must do even more.

01:30:14.740 The federal government will be there to help the provinces increase their testing capacity.

01:30:20.320 Canadians should not be waiting in line for ours to get a test.

01:30:25.100 At the same time, the government is pursuing every technology and every option

01:30:30.960 for faster tests for Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

01:30:34.840 As soon as tests are approved for safe use in Canada, the government will do everything it can to see them deployed.

01:30:43.620 The government will also create a federal testing assistance response team to quickly meet surge testing needs, including in remote and isolated communities.

01:30:56.600 Local public health authorities are the backbone of our nation's efforts to stop outbreaks before they start.

01:31:04.840 As members of the communities they protect, they know the devastating economic impact

01:31:11.800 a lockdown order can have.

01:31:15.760 To prevent small clusters from becoming major outbreaks, communities may need to enact short-term

01:31:22.340 closure orders.

01:31:24.780 To make that decision easier for the public health authorities and to help ease the impact

01:31:29.560 that science and evidence-based decisions can have on local businesses in the short

01:31:34.160 term, the government will work to target additional financial support directly to businesses

01:31:40.520 which have to temporarily shut down as a result of a local public health decision.

01:31:48.240 This will ensure that decisions are made with the health of Canadians as the first priority.

01:31:55.900 The government will also continue to work on what communities need more broadly.

01:32:02.520 The government has already invested over 19 billion dollars for a safe restart agreement

01:32:08.660 with provinces and territories to support everything from the capacity of health care

01:32:15.220 systems to securing PPE.

01:32:23.960 To address the challenges faced by provinces and territories as they reopen classrooms,

01:32:29.440 the federal government invested $2 billion in the Safe Return to Class Fund, along with

01:32:35.480 new funding for First Nations communities.

01:32:39.720 This is money to help kids and staff remain safe in the classroom, whether that's by helping

01:32:47.880 schools buy cleaning supplies or upgrading ventilation.

01:32:52.080 These commitments build on federal investment to support people who are most at risk and those who care for them, including with a federal wage top-up for personal support workers.

01:33:05.000 People on the front lines who have been looking after seniors do vital work, and the government will continue to have their backs.

01:33:13.560 At the same time, the government will continue to support Canadians as they take action to keep each other safe.

01:33:19.980 Already, people are doing their part by wearing masks.

01:33:26.660 That's important.

01:33:27.660 And we can build on that commitment.

01:33:30.660 Working with private sector partners, the federal government created the COVID Alert

01:33:35.100 app.

01:33:38.220 Canadians living in Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan

01:33:42.660 now have an extra tool to help keep themselves and others safe.

01:33:49.100 The government hopes all the others will sign on so that people in all parts of the country

01:33:55.020 can both do their part and be better protected.

01:33:59.820 The government will also continue to work on getting Canadians the PPE they need.

01:34:06.980 This spring, the government issued a call, and thousands of Canadian businesses and manufacturers

01:34:13.100 responded, from shop floors to companies big and small, Canada's dynamic businesses

01:34:19.200 met the challenge as their workers stepped up.

01:34:25.800 And in less than six months, Canadians are now manufacturing almost all types of PPE.

01:34:32.560 The government will continue building that domestic capacity while ensuring supply chains

01:34:38.060 to keep Canadians safe and create jobs.

01:34:43.060 Canadians are pulling together,

01:34:45.060 whether it's with PPE manufacturing,

01:34:48.060 through the COVID Alert app, or by wearing a mask.

01:34:52.060 In the same way, Canadian researchers and scientists

01:34:55.060 are pitching in to the Team Canada effort

01:34:58.060 with their knowledge and expertise.

01:35:02.060 In the long run, the best way to end this pandemic

01:35:07.060 is with a safe and effective vaccine.

01:35:11.060 Canada's vaccine strategy is all about ensuring that Canadians 1.00

01:35:16.060 will be able to get a vaccine once it is ready.

01:35:21.060 There are many types of potential candidates.

01:35:25.060 Canada is exploring the full range of options.

01:35:28.060 The government has already ensured access to vaccine candidates

01:35:31.060 and therapeutics while investing in manufacturing here at home.

01:35:36.060 And to get the vaccines out to Canadians once they're ready, the government has made further investments in our capacity for vaccine distribution.

01:35:45.640 From the Vaccine Task Force that provides the best advice on vaccine purchasing and rollout,

01:35:52.200 to the Immunity Task Force looking at how COVID-19 is affecting vulnerable populations,

01:36:00.160 Canada's top scientific minds are guiding the government every step of the way.

01:36:04.900 The medical and scientific fight against this virus is crucial.

01:36:13.400 And so are the livelihoods of every single Canadian worker and family.

01:36:18.760 So the second foundation of the government's approach is supporting Canadians through this

01:36:22.440 crisis.

01:36:24.360 The economic impact of COVID-19 on Canadians has already been worse than the 2008 financial

01:36:29.780 crisis.

01:36:31.240 These consequences will not be short-lived.

01:36:33.980 This is not the time for austerity.

01:36:37.720 Canada entered this crisis in the best fiscal positions of its peers, and the government

01:36:42.540 is using that fiscal firepower on things like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and

01:36:49.860 on the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, so that Canadians, businesses and our entire economy

01:36:56.660 have the support needed to weather the storm.

01:37:01.400 should not have to choose between health and their job, just like Canadians should not 1.00

01:37:06.440 have to take on debt that their government can better shoulder.

01:37:12.520 People losing their jobs is perhaps the clearest consequence of the global economic shock that

01:37:17.060 Canadians, like those in other countries, have faced.

01:37:22.100 The CERB helped people stay healthy at home while being able to keep food on the table.

01:37:28.400 The CEWS helped people keep their jobs or be rehired if they had been laid off.

01:37:35.540 But there is still more to be done.

01:37:39.600 Unemployment is in the double digits and underemployment is high.

01:37:45.080 Women, racialized Canadians and young people have borne the brunt of job losses.

01:37:52.000 Canadians need good jobs that they can rely on.

01:37:57.640 To help make that happen, the government will launch a campaign to create over one million

01:38:02.820 jobs, restoring employment to previous levels.

01:38:07.140 This will be done by using a range of tools, including direct investments in the social

01:38:11.440 sector and infrastructure, immediate training to quickly skill up workers, and incentives

01:38:18.200 for employers to hire and retain workers.

01:38:23.340 One way the government will create these jobs is by extending the Canada emergency wage subsidy

01:38:28.720 right through the next summer.

01:38:32.280 The government will work with businesses and labor to ensure the program meets the needs

01:38:37.100 of the health and economic situation as it evolves.

01:38:46.240 Another example of how the government will create jobs is by significantly scaling up

01:38:51.020 the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy to provide more paid work experiences next year

01:38:55.740 for young Canadians.

01:38:57.480 Now, more than ever, Canadians must work together, including by eliminating remaining barriers

01:39:05.000 between provinces to a full, free internal trade, to get the economy back up and running

01:39:11.340 and Canadians back to work.

01:39:14.400 With the job losses that Canadians have faced, it became clear early on that many people

01:39:19.200 would need help until they could find work once again.

01:39:22.960 But existing income support systems were not designed to handle this unprecedented situation.

01:39:30.980 That's why the government moved quickly to create the Canada Emergency Response Benefit

01:39:36.000 as a temporary program to help millions of Canadians get through a very difficult time.

01:39:43.400 With the economic restart now well underway, Serb recipients should instead be supported 1.00

01:39:49.380 by the employment insurance system.

01:39:53.660 For people who would not traditionally qualify for EI, the government will create the transitional

01:39:59.600 Canada Recovery Benefit.

01:40:03.920 Over the coming months, the EI system will become the sole delivery mechanism for employment

01:40:09.280 benefits including for Canadians who did not qualify for EI before the pandemic this pandemic

01:40:16.080 has shown that Canada needs an EI system for the 21st century including for the employed

01:40:22.000 and those in the gig economy women and in particular low-income women have been hit

01:40:32.320 hardest by COVID-19. This crisis has been described as the she session.

01:40:39.840 Many women have bravely served on the front lines of this crisis

01:40:43.840 in our communities and by shouldering the burden of unpaid care work at home.

01:40:50.160 We must not let the legacy of this pandemic be one of rolling back the clock on women's 1.00

01:40:55.680 participation in the workplace, nor one of backtracking on the social and political gain

01:41:02.300 women and allies have fought so hard to secure. 0.77

01:41:06.380 The government will create an action plan for women in the economy to help more women

01:41:12.240 get back into the workforce and to ensure a feminist, intersexual response to this pandemic 0.96

01:41:18.800 and recovery.

01:41:21.200 plan will be guided by a task force of experts whose diverse voices will power a whole-of-government

01:41:28.160 approach. It has been nearly 50 years since the Royal Commission on the Status of Women

01:41:35.440 outlined the necessity of child care services for women's social and economic equality.

01:41:42.160 We have long understood that Canada cannot succeed if half the population is held back.

01:41:47.040 Canadians need more accessible, affordable, inclusive and high-quality child care.

01:41:54.040 Recognizing the urgency of this challenge, the government will make a significant long-term

01:42:01.040 sustained investment to create a Canada-wide early learning and child care system.

01:42:11.040 The government will build on previous investments,

01:42:14.040 learn from the model that already exists in Quebec and work with all provinces and territories to ensure that high-quality care is accessible to all.

01:42:24.040 There is broad consensus from all parts of society, including business and labour leaders, that the time is now.

01:42:35.040 The government also remains committed to subsidizing before- and after-school program costs.

01:42:41.040 With the way that this pandemic has affected parents and families,

01:42:45.040 flexible care options for primary school children are more important than ever.

01:42:52.040 The government will also accelerate the Women's Entrepreneurship Strategy,

01:42:58.040 which has already helped women across Canada grow their businesses.

01:43:04.040 As the government invests in people, it will continue to support job-creating businesses.

01:43:12.920 Small businesses are the lifeblood of communities and the backbone of the economy.

01:43:18.040 The government introduced a range of supports for Canadian businesses, from help with payroll

01:43:23.980 through the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, to assistance with expenses through interest-free

01:43:30.620 loans. COVID-19 has caused businesses across the country, both large and small, to rethink

01:43:39.440 their approaches. Entrepreneurs and owners are looking at more digital options, more

01:43:45.260 creative solutions, and more climate-friendly investments. The government will help businesses

01:43:51.800 adapt for the future and thrive.

01:43:54.860 This fall, in addition to extending the wage subsidy, the government will take further

01:44:00.100 steps to bridge vulnerable businesses to the other side of the pandemic, by expanding the

01:44:06.460 Canada Emergency Business Account to help businesses with fixed costs, by improving

01:44:12.540 the Business Credit Availability Program, and by introducing further support for industries

01:44:19.500 that have been the hardest hit, including travel and tourism, and cultural industries

01:44:26.340 like the performing arts. This COVID-19 emergency has had huge costs, but Canada would have been

01:44:36.260 in a deeper recession and in a bigger long-term deficit if the government had done less.

01:44:43.700 With interest rates so low, central banks can only do so much to help. There is a global consensus

01:44:51.140 that governments must do more.

01:44:54.140 Government can do so while also locking in the low cost of borrowing for decades to come.

01:45:01.020 This government will preserve Canada's fiscal advantage

01:45:03.700 and continue to be guided by values of sustainability and prudence.

01:45:09.720 There are two distinct needs.

01:45:13.180 The first is to help Canadians in the short term.

01:45:16.000 To do whatever it takes, using whatever fiscal firepower is needed to support people and businesses during the pandemic.

01:45:25.000 The best way to keep the economy strong is to keep Canadians healthy.

01:45:31.000 The second need is to build back better, with a sustainable approach for future generations.

01:45:38.000 As the government builds a plan for stimulus and recovery, this must be done responsibly.

01:45:45.000 In the longer term, the government will focus on targeted investments to strengthen the middle class, build resiliency, and generate growth.

01:45:55.060 The government will also identify additional ways to tax extreme wealth inequality, including by concluding work to limit the stock option deduction for wealthy individuals at large, established corporations, and addressing corporate tax avoidance by digital giants.

01:46:15.000 Web giants are taking Canadians' money while imposing their own priorities.

01:46:25.700 Things must change, and they will change.

01:46:29.800 The government will act to ensure the revenue is shared more fairly with our creators and

01:46:34.720 media, and will also require them to contribute to the creation, production, and distribution

01:46:40.800 of our stories, on screen in lyrics, in music, and in writing.

01:46:46.640 This fall, the government will release an update to Canada's COVID-19 economic response

01:46:51.980 plan.

01:46:55.100 This will outline the government's economic and fiscal position, provide fiscal projections,

01:47:01.320 and set out new measures to implement this throne speech.

01:47:07.140 update will make clear that the strength of the middle class and the well-being of all Canadians

01:47:12.740 remain Canada's key measures of success. As we fight for every Canadian and defend everybody's

01:47:21.300 ability to succeed, we also need to focus on the future and on building back better.

01:47:28.980 This forms the third foundation of the government's approach. Around the world,

01:47:34.260 advanced economies are realizing that things should not go back to business as usual.

01:47:40.020 COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerabilities in our society.

01:47:44.580 The government will create a resiliency agenda for the middle class and for people working

01:47:50.180 hard to join it. This will include addressing the gaps in our social systems, investing in

01:47:57.460 healthcare and creating jobs. It will also include fighting climate change and maintaining a

01:48:04.340 commitment to fiscal sustainability and economic growth as the foundation of a strong and vibrant

01:48:10.980 society. Central to this is recognizing that one of the greatest tragedies of this pandemic is the

01:48:21.540 lives lost in long-term care homes.

01:48:25.220 Elders deserve to be safe, respected and live in dignity.

01:48:29.500 Although long-term care falls under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, the federal

01:48:34.480 government will take any action it can to support seniors while working alongside the

01:48:38.760 provinces and territories.

01:48:41.980 The government will work with Parliament on criminal code amendments to explicitly penalize

01:48:48.460 those who neglect seniors under their care, putting them in danger.

01:48:55.360 The government will also work with the provinces and territories to set new national standards

01:49:01.840 for long-term care so that seniors get the best support possible, and take additional

01:49:12.080 action to help people stay in their homes longer.

01:49:18.020 The government remains committed to increasing old-age security once a senior turns 75 and 0.98

01:49:26.020 boosting the Canada Pension Plan survivor's benefit.

01:49:31.120 The government will look at further targeted measures for personal support workers who

01:49:36.660 do an essential service helping the most vulnerable in our communities.

01:49:42.500 must better value their work and their contributions to our society.

01:49:48.580 COVID-19 has disproportionately affected Canadians with disabilities and highlighted

01:49:54.340 long-standing challenges. The government will bring forward a disability inclusion plan,

01:50:01.380 which will have a new Canadian disability benefit modelled after the guaranteed income

01:50:09.140 supplement for seniors a robust employment strategy for canadians with disabilities

01:50:17.620 and a better process to determine eligibility for government disability programs and benefits

01:50:27.540 over the last six months it has become clearer clearer than ever why canadians need a resilient

01:50:35.140 healthcare system. The government will ensure that everyone, including in rural and remote areas,

01:50:43.220 has access to a family doctor or primary care team. COVID-19 has also shown that our system

01:50:49.780 needs to be more flexible and able to reach people at home. The government will continue

01:50:55.860 to expand capacity to deliver virtual healthcare. The government will also continue to address the

01:51:02.740 opioid epidemic tearing through communities, which is an ongoing and worsening public health crisis.

01:51:10.980 Additionally, the government will further increase access to mental health resources.

01:51:17.060 All Canadians should have the care they need when they need it. We will all be stronger for it.

01:51:25.460 The same goes for access to the medicine that keeps people healthy.

01:51:29.780 Many Canadians who had drug plans through work lost this coverage when they were laid off

01:51:35.300 because of the pandemic. So this is exactly the right moment to ramp up efforts to address that.

01:51:42.820 The government remains committed to a national universal pharmacare program and will accelerate

01:51:48.740 steps to achieve the system, including through a rare disease strategy to help Canadian families

01:51:56.100 save money on high-cost drugs, establishing a national formulary to keep drug prices low,

01:52:05.620 and working with provinces and territories willing to move forward without delay.

01:52:14.580 In addition to good health infrastructure, Canadians also need strong, safe communities

01:52:19.700 to call home. The government has banned assault-style firearms. The government will also continue

01:52:26.700 implementing firearms policy commitments, including giving municipalities the ability

01:52:36.840 to further restrict or ban handguns, and strengthening measures to control the flow of illegal guns

01:52:44.560 into Canada. Women's safety must be the foundation on which all progress is built. The government

01:52:53.100 will accelerate investments in shelters and transition housing, and continue to advance

01:52:58.640 with a national action plan on gender-based violence.

01:53:04.560 To keep building strong communities, over the next two years, the government will also

01:53:09.480 invest in all types of infrastructure, including public transit, energy-efficient retrofits,

01:53:17.020 clean energy, rural broadband, and affordable housing, particularly for indigenous peoples

01:53:24.540 and northern communities.

01:53:28.060 In the last six months, many more people have worked from home, taken classes from the kitchen

01:53:33.580 table, shopped online, and accessed government services remotely.

01:53:38.780 So it has become more important than ever that all Canadians have access to the Internet.

01:53:44.920 The government will accelerate the connectivity timelines and ambitions of the Universal Broadband

01:53:51.400 Fund to ensure that all Canadians, no matter where they live, have access to high-speed

01:53:57.700 Internet.

01:54:00.160 And to further link our communities together, the government will work with partners to

01:54:04.020 support regional routes for airlines.

01:54:07.680 is essential that Canadians have access to reliable and affordable regional air

01:54:13.080 services. This is an issue of equity, of jobs and of economic development. The

01:54:20.400 government will work to support this. Strong communities are places where

01:54:25.440 everyone has a safe, affordable home. No one should be without a place to stay

01:54:31.360 during a pandemic and for that matter a Canadian winter. This week the government

01:54:38.080 invested more than 1 billion dollars for people experiencing homelessness including

01:54:43.680 for this fall. In 2017 the government announced that it would reduce chronic

01:54:50.720 homelessness by 50%. The government has already helped more than a million

01:54:55.960 people get a safe and affordable place to call home. Given the progress that

01:55:01.200 that has been made and our commitment to do more, the government is now focused on entirely

01:55:07.540 eliminating chronic homelessness in Canada. At the same time, the government will also

01:55:15.240 make substantial investment in housing for Canadians. The government will add to the

01:55:21.240 historic national housing strategy announced in 2017 by increasing investment to rapid

01:55:28.420 housing in the short term and partnering with not-for-profit and co-ops in the mid to long term

01:55:37.460 for the middle class the government will also move forward with enhancement to the first time

01:55:42.260 home buyer incentive including in canada's largest cities so family can afford to buy their first home

01:55:48.980 Housing is something everyone deserves, and it's also a key driver of the economy.

01:55:59.780 Construction projects create jobs, and having a home is critical so people can contribute

01:56:05.140 to their communities.

01:56:09.540 Just like everyone deserves a home, everyone deserves to be able to put nutritious food

01:56:14.260 on the table.

01:56:16.460 The pandemic has made that harder for Canadians.

01:56:20.660 The government will continue to work with partners, including directly with First Nations,

01:56:26.280 Inuit and Métis Nation partners, to address food insecurity in Canada.

01:56:32.520 The government will also strengthen local food supply chains here in Canada.

01:56:38.220 The Canadian and migrant workers who produce, harvest and process our food, from people 1.00

01:56:44.540 picking fruit to packing seafood, have done an outstanding job getting food on people's

01:56:49.740 plates. They deserve the government's full support and protection. The government will

01:56:55.880 also ensure that those in Canada's supply-managed sectors receive full and fair compensation

01:57:02.300 for recent trade agreements. Farmers keep our families fed, and we will continue to

01:57:10.880 help them succeed and grow.

01:57:16.320 This pandemic has revealed gaps in health, housing and food supply.

01:57:23.060 And it has also laid bare inequalities Canadians face in the workforce.

01:57:30.060 We have an opportunity to not just support Canadians, but grow their potential.

01:57:36.240 with the provinces and territories, the government will make the largest investment in Canadian

01:57:41.900 history in training for workers.

01:57:45.980 This will include supporting Canadians as they build new skills in growing sectors,

01:57:54.000 helping workers receive education and accreditation, and strengthening workers' futures by connecting

01:58:01.540 them to employers and good jobs in order to grow and strengthen the middle class from researchers

01:58:10.260 developing vaccines to entrepreneurs building online stores this pandemic has reminded us of

01:58:16.420 the power of the knowledge economy and how vital it is for our future canadians are leading and they

01:58:24.500 should have government services that keep up. The government will make

01:58:30.260 generational investments in updating outdated IT systems to modernize the

01:58:36.320 way that government serves Canadians, from the elderly to the young, from

01:58:43.040 people looking for work to those living with a disability. The government will 1.00

01:58:48.080 also work to introduce free automatic tax filing for simple returns to ensure

01:58:53.060 citizens receive the benefits they need. Government must remain agile and ready for what lies ahead.

01:59:02.980 Climate action will be a cornerstone of our plan to support and create a million jobs

01:59:08.020 across the country. This is where the world is going. Global consumers and investors are demanding

01:59:15.540 and rewarding climate action. Canadians have the determination and ingenuity

01:59:22.100 to rise to this challenge and global market opportunity we can create good jobs today

01:59:28.980 and a globally competitive economy not just next year but in 2030 2040 and beyond

01:59:39.300 canadians know climate change threatens our health way of life and planet

01:59:45.220 they want climate action now and that is what the government will continue to deliver

01:59:52.100 The government will immediately bring forward a plan to exceed Canada's 2030 climate goal.

02:00:00.100 The government will also legislate Canada's goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

02:00:09.100 As part of its plan, the government will

02:00:14.100 create thousands of jobs retrofitting homes and buildings,

02:00:18.100 cutting energy costs for Canadian families and businesses invest in

02:00:24.420 reducing the impact of climate-related disasters like floods and wildfires to

02:00:29.900 make communities safer and more resilient help deliver more transit and

02:00:35.380 active transit options and make zero emissions vehicles more affordable while

02:00:43.920 while investing in more charging stations across the country.

02:00:50.920 A good example of adapting to a carbon-neutral future

02:00:54.920 is building zero-emissions vehicles and batteries.

02:00:58.920 Canada has the resources, from nickel to copper,

02:01:02.920 needed for these clean technologies.

02:01:05.920 This, combined with Canadian expertise,

02:01:08.920 is Canada's competitive edge.

02:01:10.920 The government will launch a new fund to attract investments in making zero-emissions products

02:01:16.320 and cut the corporate tax rate in half for these companies to create jobs

02:01:22.240 and make Canada a world leader in clean technology.

02:01:27.820 The government will ensure Canada is the most competitive jurisdiction in the world

02:01:33.400 for clean technology companies.

02:01:35.540 Additionally, the government will transform how we power our economy and communities by

02:01:43.720 moving forward with the Clean Power Fund, including with projects like the Atlantic Loop

02:01:50.980 that will connect surplus clean power to regions transitioning away from coal, and support

02:01:57.920 investments in renewable energy and next generation clean energy and technology solutions.

02:02:05.680 Canada cannot reach net zero without the know-how of the energy sector and the innovative ideas of

02:02:12.560 all Canadians including people in places like British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and

02:02:18.960 Newfoundland and Labrador. The government will support manufacturing, natural resource and energy

02:02:27.360 sectors as they work to transform to meet a net-zero future, creating good-paying and

02:02:33.820 long-lasting jobs.

02:02:37.100 And it will recognize farmers, foresters and ranchers as key partners in the fight against

02:02:42.860 climate change, supporting their efforts to reduce emissions and to build resilience.

02:02:49.920 The government will continue its policy of putting a price on pollution, while putting

02:02:55.480 that money back in the pockets of Canadians. It cannot be free to pollute.

02:03:01.880 This pandemic has reminded Canadians of the importance of nature.

02:03:06.120 The government will work with municipalities as part of a new commitment to expand urban parks

02:03:12.040 so that everyone has access to green space. This will be done while protecting a quarter of Canada's

02:03:18.520 land and a quarter of Canada's oceans in five years, and use a nature-based solution to fight

02:03:26.120 climate change, including by planting two billion trees. The government will ban harmful single-use

02:03:34.760 plastics next year and ensure more plastic is recycled, and the government will also modernize

02:03:41.800 Canada's Environmental Protection Act. When the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation

02:03:48.600 Administration was closed by a previous government, Canada lost an important tool

02:03:53.720 to manage its waters. The government will create a new Canada Water Agency to keep

02:04:00.440 our water safe, clean and well managed. The government will also identify

02:04:05.880 opportunities to build more resilient water and irrigation infrastructure at the same time

02:04:13.080 the government will look at continuing to grow canada's ocean economy to create opportunities

02:04:18.280 for fishers and coastal communities while advancing reconciliation and conservation objectives

02:04:25.800 investing in the blue economy will help canada prosper

02:04:29.640 This is a fight for Canadians today and Canada tomorrow, so we must never forget the values

02:04:40.420 that make us who we are.

02:04:42.360 The fourth and final foundation of the government's approach is defending Canadian values and ensuring

02:04:49.000 they are lived experiences for everyone.

02:04:52.520 Canada is a place where we take care of each other.

02:04:56.200 This has helped Canada weather the pandemic better than many other countries.

02:05:01.360 Canada must continue to stand up for the values that define this country, whether that's

02:05:05.160 welcoming newcomers, celebrating with pride the contributions of LGBTQ2 communities, or

02:05:11.600 embracing two official languages.

02:05:14.660 There is work still to be done, including on the road of reconciliation and in addressing

02:05:19.980 systemic racism.

02:05:25.440 With the pandemic, the government has made it a priority to support Indigenous communities,

02:05:31.380 which has helped contain the spread of COVID-19 and kept people safe.

02:05:37.000 That is something the government will continue to do.

02:05:40.480 The government will walk the shared path of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and

02:05:45.540 remain focused on implementing the commitments made in 2019.

02:05:50.560 However, the pandemic has shown that we need to keep moving forward even faster on a number

02:05:56.460 of fronts, including by expediting work to co-develop distinction-based Indigenous health

02:06:03.860 legislation with First Nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation, and a distinction-based

02:06:10.120 mental health and wellness strategy.

02:06:13.320 By accelerating work on the National Action Plan in response to the National Inquiry into

02:06:19.400 missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, calls for justice, as well as implementation

02:06:26.580 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action.

02:06:31.880 And by continuing to close the infrastructure gap in Indigenous communities, working on

02:06:38.600 a distinction basis with First Nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation, to accelerate the government's

02:06:45.080 10-year commitment.

02:06:48.220 The government will also make additional resiliency investment to meet the clean drinking water

02:06:53.520 commitment in First Nations community, and support additional capacity building for First

02:06:59.440 Nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation. 0.99

02:07:03.480 The government will also move forward to introduce legislation to implement the United Nations

02:07:09.900 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples before the end of this year.

02:07:15.660 For too many Canadians, systemic racism is a lived reality.

02:07:25.480 We know that racism did not take a break during the pandemic.

02:07:30.180 On the contrary, COVID-19 has hit racialized Canadians especially hard.

02:07:36.480 Many people, especially Indigenous people and Black and racialized Canadians have raised

02:07:41.700 their voices and stood up to demand change.

02:07:45.060 They are telling us we must do more.

02:07:47.620 The government agrees.

02:07:50.260 The government has pledged to address systemic racism, and committed to do so in a way informed

02:07:55.700 by the lived experiences of racialized communities and indigenous peoples.

02:08:01.020 The government has invested in economic empowerment through the Black Entrepreneurship Program,

02:08:06.500 while working to close the gaps in services for indigenous communities.

02:08:11.960 steps were taken with the release of Canada's anti-racism strategy for 2019 to 2022, the creation

02:08:20.440 of an anti-racism secretariat, and the appointment of the first-ever minister focused specifically

02:08:27.320 on diversity and inclusion. This is all good, but much more needs to be done for permanent,

02:08:34.760 transformative change to take place the government will redouble its effort by taking action on

02:08:42.360 online hate going further on economic empowerment for specific communities and increasing diversity

02:08:49.560 on procurement building a whole of federal government approach around better collection

02:08:55.800 of disaggregated data implementing an action plan to increase representation

02:09:02.680 in hiring and appointments and leadership development within the public service,

02:09:09.480 and by taking new steps to support the artistic and economic contributions of Black Canadian

02:09:14.840 culture and heritage. Progress must also be made through the policy and justice systems.

02:09:23.160 All Canadians must have the confidence that the justice system is there to protect them,

02:09:27.240 not to harm them. Black Canadians and Indigenous peoples are over-represented in the criminal

02:09:34.140 justice system. That has to change. The government will take steps to ensure that a strong hand of

02:09:40.840 criminal justice is used where it is needed to keep people safe, but not where it would be

02:09:46.260 discriminatory or counterproductive. The government will introduce legislation and make investments

02:09:53.340 that take action to address the systemic inequities in all phases of the criminal justice system,

02:10:00.460 from diversion to sentencing, from rehabilitation to records.

02:10:06.100 The government will move forward on enhanced civilian oversight of our law enforcement agencies, including the RCMP.

02:10:15.960 It will modernize training for police and law enforcement, including addressing standards around the use of force.

02:10:22.420 It will move forward on RCMP reforms with a shift toward community-led policy.

02:10:30.280 And it will accelerate work to co-develop a legislative framework for First Nations policy as an essential service.

02:10:41.840 Our two official languages are woven into the very fabric of our country.

02:10:46.600 The defense of the rights of Francophones outside Quebec and the defense of the rights

02:10:53.100 of the Anglophone minority within Quebec is a priority for the government.

02:11:00.580 The government of Canada must also recognize that the situation of French is unique.

02:11:05.040 There are almost 8 million Francophones in Canada, within a region of over 360 million

02:11:10.500 inhabitants who are almost exclusively Anglophone.

02:11:13.640 The government therefore has the responsibility to protect and promote French not only outside

02:11:18.340 of Quebec, but also within Quebec.

02:11:22.320 In this vein, 51 years after the passage of the Official Languages Act, the government

02:11:29.320 is committed to strengthening this legislation, taking into consideration the unique reality

02:11:34.360 of French.

02:11:36.160 Immigration remains a driver of Canada's economic growth.

02:11:40.160 With other countries rejecting global talent that could help their economy, Canada has

02:11:44.880 an opportunity, as we recover, to become the world's top destination for talent, capital

02:11:50.740 and jobs.

02:11:52.280 When people choose Canada, help build Canada, and make sacrifices in support of Canada,

02:11:58.720 we should make it easier for them to formally become Canadians.

02:12:03.320 Earlier this year, the government announced measures to grant permanent residency to

02:12:08.260 people who, although not Canadian citizens, had cared for the most vulnerable in long-term

02:12:14.320 care homes and other medical facilities. The government will continue to bring in newcomers 1.00

02:12:20.740 and support family reunification. We know that there is an economic and human advantage

02:12:27.300 to having families together. As part of both the short-term economic recovery and a long-term

02:12:35.680 plan for growth, the government will leverage the advantage we have on immigration to keep

02:12:40.580 Canada competitive on the world stage.

02:12:43.780 We must take action on all of these priorities at home, but we must also address the world

02:12:53.120 in which we live.

02:12:55.080 COVID-19 has accelerated the existing trends towards a more fragmented global order.

02:13:03.300 It remains in Canada's interest to create and maintain bilateral and multilateral relationships

02:13:07.660 to advance peace and economic prosperity.

02:13:12.160 The government will invest more in international development while supporting developing countries

02:13:16.780 on their economic recoveries and resilience.

02:13:21.960 Canada will also support work to ensure that people around the world have access to a vaccine.

02:13:29.420 We cannot eliminate this pandemic in Canada unless we end it everywhere.

02:13:39.080 The government will also continue to stand up for human rights and the rule of law.

02:13:44.100 It is unacceptable that any citizen be arbitrarily detained.

02:13:49.780 Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor must be brought home.

02:13:53.840 This is something for which all Canadians stand united.

02:13:57.220 The government will continue to fight for free trade, including by leading the Ottawa

02:14:02.200 Group to reform the World Trade Organization.

02:14:06.400 Our like-minded allies and partners are investing to make sure their societies emerge stronger.

02:14:13.420 This government's plan does that as well.

02:14:18.660 Taken together, this is an ambitious plan for an unprecedented reality.

02:14:24.900 The course of events will determine what needs to be done when.

02:14:29.260 But throughout, protecting and supporting Canadians will stay the top priority.

02:14:35.440 And the core values that have driven the government since day one will remain the same.

02:14:41.240 In 2015, Canadians asked their government to deliver real change on everything from

02:14:47.280 middle-class jobs to climate change.

02:14:51.140 In 2019, the people chose a parliament that would keep moving forward on these shared

02:14:56.300 goals.

02:14:57.880 And in 2020, Canadians expect nothing less.

02:15:02.520 It is no small task to build a stronger, more resilient country.

02:15:07.000 It will take hard work.

02:15:08.940 It will require a commitment to finding common ground.

02:15:11.940 Mesdames and Messieurs, les Parlementaires, les Canadiens comptent sur vous pour…

02:15:18.020 Canadians have placed a trust in you to guide this country forward.

02:15:23.020 They have placed their faith in you to work together to meet whatever challenges we face.

02:15:27.020 Remember that we are here today because of the generations of Canadians who came before us.

02:15:32.020 We are here because of the women and men, our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents,

02:15:38.020 who had the courage to reach for a better future.

02:15:42.020 Today, it is our turn, our moment to build a stronger and more resilient Canada for everyone.

02:15:50.920 Members of the House of Commons, you will be asked to appropriate the funds to carry out the services and expenditures authorized by Parliament.

02:15:59.760 Members of the Senate and members of the House of Commons, may you be equal to the profound trust bestowed on you by Canadians,

02:16:06.880 and may divine providence guide you in all your duties.

02:16:12.020 that was the speech from the throne kicking off the latest session of parliament after

02:16:35.920 prime minister justin trudeau request and was granted a prorogation earlier this summer now

02:16:41.800 as you can see from the shot of the Senate, it's a much more sparsely populated Senate chamber than

02:16:47.500 is typical for this, where you'd have the nine Supreme Court justices, the full complement of

02:16:52.640 senators and members of parliament all huddled in there, whereas now we've got just a select

02:16:57.740 number of senators, a select number of members of parliament, and just the one lone representative

02:17:03.080 of the Supreme Court there, Chief Justice Richard Wagner, sitting very lonely in the front row there,

02:17:09.540 The only row, in fact, just one chair in the middle of the floor.

02:17:12.560 This is True North Update.

02:17:13.540 I'm Andrew Lawton, joined by Candace Malcolm.

02:17:16.160 And we'll keep the shot up just so you can see things winding down.

02:17:19.560 The mace is being carted back to the House of Commons alongside the representatives from

02:17:24.520 the House of Commons.

02:17:25.820 And we'll start to see the Governor General leave any moment now.

02:17:29.680 So, Candace, we had talked earlier on about what we would likely see and hear in this

02:17:34.160 throne speech.

02:17:34.800 And I think we kind of agreed that it was unlikely there was going to be anything really

02:17:38.640 radical. There was a lot of the virtue signaling pandering that we kind of expect from Trudeau,

02:17:43.700 but nothing really bold. And in fact, even the things that did seem to be announced

02:17:47.800 were really just restatements and reiterations of policies that Justin Trudeau has already

02:17:52.900 announced. And in many cases, going back to 2015, when he first ran, but hadn't delivered on.

02:17:59.280 That's a good observation. I want to say earlier in the show, I think I called it a chalice and

02:18:03.500 you just called it a mace. That's right. I couldn't remember the official term for that

02:18:07.680 large golden uh you know thing that they carry so yes it is called the mace but yeah i mean that was

02:18:14.240 that was pretty brutal to be to be blatantly honest here i mean that was just a partisan

02:18:20.480 rhetoric heavy campaign speech that you're right the main kind of things that they talked about

02:18:26.240 all the political buzzwords that you would expect talking about systemic racism and intersectional

02:18:31.920 feminism and climate action i kind of cringe to hear the governor general of canada you know we're

02:18:37.520 talking about the great traditions of this country and yes the governor general is a stand-in uh for

02:18:43.200 the queen when the queen is not in canada and you know it's hard to imagine the the queen ever

02:18:49.040 parroting political partisan talking points like that but you know we were joking offline about

02:18:54.080 how this this should be a drinking game that every time she says build back better or team 1.00

02:18:58.800 canada approach or the middle class and those working hard to join it uh you know people can

02:19:04.160 take a drink if it wasn't uh you know in the middle of the day here but but uh you know it

02:19:09.280 basically what it was was just a reiteration of all the annoying uh things uh platitudes and

02:19:15.040 hectoring that we hear from trudeau's cabinet on a regular basis empty platitudes empty talking

02:19:20.640 points don't really mean anything in a lot of cases it was just head scratching i mean she

02:19:25.840 talked about intersectional feminism and then the example of how they were going to have a feminist 0.93

02:19:32.480 policy was about providing government daycare well i've never heard an intersectional feminist 1.00

02:19:38.160 once talk about the need uh for anything regarding mothers i mean they don't feminists don't really 1.00

02:19:43.840 care to talk about mothers and they don't really advocate on behalf of mothers so it's sort of a

02:19:48.480 logical leap there and then again the idea that somehow having some kind of a rigid government

02:19:54.400 program is going to meet the needs of all mothers is just sort of silly you know we heard about the

02:19:59.440 pharma pharma care uh strategy again that was a that was a 2015 uh campaign pledge that trudeau

02:20:06.640 never followed up on so a little warning on that was interesting they they talked about accelerating

02:20:12.560 steps so they aren't even pretending it's a new plan but it's easy to accelerate when you've been

02:20:16.880 stuck at zero for so long and don't get me wrong i'm not a fan of the universal pharma care plan

02:20:21.440 But if you're going to make that your flagship policy, actually do it.

02:20:25.380 Right.

02:20:26.040 And again, what happened to the bold new ideas and all the leaks that we heard in the media

02:20:31.540 running up to this event about how something big was coming?

02:20:34.860 Well, no, that was just really a lot more of the same.

02:20:38.220 And again, there were some sort of new things, I guess, that the true government has been

02:20:43.180 talking about a whole section on systemic racism.

02:20:46.180 I pointed this out on Twitter, Andrew, but I'll make the point here again that she talked

02:20:51.420 about uh how systemic racism apparently is a big problem canada she didn't define it of course they 0.91

02:20:56.700 never do and then the top example of the steps that they're taking to combat systemic racism

02:21:03.660 was to combat online hate so i'm just a little bit confused about the connection

02:21:08.780 andrew between systemic racism which implies that there is deep racism embedded in our institutions

02:21:14.860 and our traditions and our systems with combating online hate, which would seem to allude to,

02:21:22.760 you know, individual instances of racism, which is not systemic. I mean, how is combating mean

02:21:28.120 comments on comment boards on YouTube or on Twitter the same thing at all as something as

02:21:34.560 serious and profound as claiming of the entire country is systemically racist? I didn't quite

02:21:40.200 get that connection. Yeah, and it's topics like that that are really a bit dangerous in a way

02:21:46.060 because they show that there's not really an emphasis on anything empirical. I mean, this

02:21:50.500 is the government that it's become a bit of a punchline now to people like us, but famously

02:21:54.320 promised evidence-based decision-making as though, you know, everything Stephen Harper did was not

02:21:58.440 based on evidence and everything Justin Trudeau is doing will be. And then you get these terms

02:22:02.800 which are not objective, which are very loaded and aren't even really corresponding or correlating

02:22:08.240 to any demonstrably valuable policy propositions.

02:22:12.340 And I mean, the online hate one's big.

02:22:14.280 And I've been following this going back

02:22:15.660 about a year and a half

02:22:16.740 because what the Liberals have been doing

02:22:18.180 was really pushing this idea

02:22:20.560 that the Justice Committee,

02:22:22.200 which it investigated,

02:22:23.220 it needed to recommend to Parliament

02:22:25.140 a mechanism to regulate online speech.

02:22:28.060 And you take that and compound it

02:22:30.100 with what was in the throne speech,

02:22:31.600 which is something that we've heard

02:22:33.280 Catherine McKenna and Stephen Gilbeau

02:22:35.200 talking about in the last few weeks,

02:22:37.160 the idea of regulating social media companies. And these two things combined are very dangerous.

02:22:42.720 And the government has doubled down on that by including in the throne speech, the online hate

02:22:48.620 section, but also the making social media companies pay. And you may not like big tech.

02:22:55.020 I've got my own issues with Facebook and Twitter and Google and all of these platforms. But I

02:22:59.620 certainly don't think that any of them are going to be made better by getting the liberal government

02:23:03.360 injected into their affairs right and and from what i see and what i've been following in terms

02:23:08.480 of what they're doing it's not like they're trying to you know impose some kind of a universal

02:23:13.680 standard on these tech companies it's like what they want is for facebook and google and perhaps

02:23:18.800 youtube to pay a royalty to establishment media so again it wouldn't even really be across the

02:23:25.120 board helpful it would be targeting uh towards helping you know the big the big players in the

02:23:30.160 industry in canada um get bailed out so that that was interesting to see and like you said yeah

02:23:35.040 we've heard you know they've been talking about doing this for for over a year now so it's not

02:23:40.320 exactly again uh new thinking uh what about some of the other things in this throne speech uh andrew

02:23:45.600 there seemed to be a heavy emphasis on climate change or what i would consider climate alarmism

02:23:51.760 uh even just in her introduction you know she talked about she welcomed the the address not

02:23:57.200 not by talking to Canadians,

02:23:58.520 but by talking about people who inhabit the planet,

02:24:00.420 which is just sort of weird language.

02:24:03.280 But there was quite a bit of rhetoric

02:24:06.000 when it comes to the environment.

02:24:07.180 I don't know about very many policies.

02:24:09.240 I didn't hear any specific things

02:24:11.040 other than something about electric cars.

02:24:14.560 What do you think about that angle of the throne speech?

02:24:18.220 Yeah, I've been doing, I was able to get a copy of it

02:24:20.760 and I was looking through it

02:24:21.900 and kind of jumping ahead a little bit.

02:24:23.380 And I always find it interesting

02:24:24.920 just to start plugging in random terms

02:24:26.760 seeing what appears, how often, and also what doesn't appear. And I'm going to just shift to a

02:24:31.560 slightly different topic there because I was amazed that what didn't appear was a reference of China.

02:24:37.000 I shouldn't say amazed. I was disappointed. I mean, there was a reference to Michael Kovrig

02:24:41.800 and Michael's favor, which I think is important, but there was no reference to China, which is

02:24:46.920 particularly concerning given that that is probably one of the greater geopolitical threats

02:24:52.520 that Canada is facing at this particular juncture economically with coronavirus,

02:24:57.400 security related, and the idea that there was only just a very kind of soft and adjacent reference

02:25:03.400 to an issue connected to China without tackling it head on. I mean, for the Prime Minister that

02:25:08.600 wanted to cement his legacy based on how Canada is viewed in the world, there wasn't really an

02:25:13.720 embrace of the big foreign policy debates in which Canada finds itself right now.

02:25:18.920 That's a very good point. So I guess it's a good thing that we had MP Garnet Jenis on earlier with

02:25:23.640 his Uyghur t-shirt and sustained in solidarity because that's as close to a discussion on

02:25:29.560 foreign policy as we got today. I did the same thing with the keyword search and one of the

02:25:35.880 things I was really surprised at Andrew was lack of the term green. I was looking for green energy

02:25:42.200 or green projects. We had heard Chrystia Freeland, the finance minister, talk about how the new

02:25:47.960 throne speech was going to talk about taking steps towards decarboning decarbonizing the economy and

02:25:53.640 having a green shift and building back better with a green new deal we didn't we didn't hear

02:25:59.160 anything about that interestingly though one of the things that the governor general did talk about

02:26:05.560 was a blue economy so so they've gotten rid of the term green i guess they maybe did some poll

02:26:10.920 testing and green isn't very popular anymore so when she was talking about the environment and

02:26:15.240 talking about uh canada's oceans and and protecting um not just uh you know fishing and coastal

02:26:22.280 communities but the environment she was talking about building a blue economy so that was that

02:26:27.000 was sort of an interesting uh observation i had yeah i'm just thinking of uh you know elvis's

02:26:31.560 blue christmas but this will be like the new liberal anthem i'll have a blue economy without

02:26:35.400 you and on that note the plastic ban is back the throne speech reiterated the trudeau government's

02:26:41.000 pledged to ban single-use plastics, which I thought was kind of dead after coronavirus

02:26:47.640 pandemic. I mean, this was one of these things that Trudeau had promised in the summer. You may

02:26:52.300 remember very famously when he talked about the drink water juice water bottle box. And I thought

02:26:58.860 that when the pandemic came around and basically the world was saved through single-use plastics

02:27:03.080 because you don't have the cleanliness issues, I kind of thought that that was one that everyone

02:27:06.900 would walk away from but no they're bringing it back yeah i mean this government of course has

02:27:13.020 has no shame and and like we talked about there was really like a lack of substance in this in

02:27:17.820 this throne speech lack of new ideas so it's not surprising at all that they're just reiterating

02:27:22.360 you know they're they're same old same old ideas i'll pick up on another sort of pet peeve that i

02:27:27.800 had andrew do you remember a couple years ago when there were conservatives running for a successor

02:27:32.600 to Stephen Harper and Kelly Leach the MP. One of the things she was proposing she

02:27:38.360 was running for leader she wanted new immigrants to take a values test to make 0.71

02:27:43.420 sure that they had values that aligned with Canadian values and there was a

02:27:46.880 huge issue in the media everyone was lighting their hair on fire and clutching

02:27:50.000 our pearls saying how dare this conservative try to define Canadian

02:27:53.900 values there's no such thing as Canadian values and we got into this whole

02:27:57.380 ridiculous discussion that really emphasized the sort of post-nationalist, cultural relativist

02:28:04.620 world that reporters and many politicians live in in Canada. But the sort of main consensus was 0.77

02:28:11.200 that somehow it was racist to talk about core Canadian values. Well, of course, the liberals

02:28:15.920 themselves don't, you know, these rules don't apply to them. So they always talk about their

02:28:20.080 core values. And I just want to point this out because I think to so many Canadians, this would

02:28:25.980 just be a point of absolute disagreement Julie Payette read in the

02:28:31.220 throwing speech she said Canada must continue to stand up for the values that

02:28:35.160 define this country whether that's welcoming newcomers celebrating the

02:28:39.060 pride celebrating with pride the contributions of the LGBTQ2 communities

02:28:45.120 or embracing two official languages so according to the governor-general and

02:28:50.640 presumably the speech was written by the liberal partisan in the prime minister's

02:28:55.380 office there are three examples of canadian values that define our country and that is welcoming

02:29:00.980 newcomers being proud of gay rights and having bilingualism i mean that that is a pretty

02:29:07.700 superficial way of looking at our country and look it's great that we have a welcoming attitude

02:29:12.820 towards immigrants as part of our competitive advantage it's great that uh people from the 1.00

02:29:17.940 gay community feel included and that their rights are championed across the country that's great too

02:29:22.660 and the fact that we have two languages well that's just sort of you know a situation for

02:29:26.340 history but to sort of boil down canadian values to those three very superficial points it's just

02:29:32.420 maddening to me like like for all of canada for for all of our history for people from coast to

02:29:37.300 coast the only thing that you can think of that defines our country and those core values are

02:29:42.340 those three sort of superficial leftist points i i cringed when i heard that part of this yeah

02:29:47.380 And nothing about life, liberty, justice, the rule of law, freedom of speech, none of these things.

02:29:54.280 And the problem, too, that I found is that there wasn't any real national unity idea that was put

02:30:01.360 in. And I mean, I just did, again, when we were talking about looking through the speech,

02:30:04.460 I did a search for Alberta. Alberta was mentioned just once alongside just, you know, a list of

02:30:09.800 other provinces. There wasn't any mention of the term West. So when you have Western alienation

02:30:16.520 and growing. The idea of keeping the country together, of promoting national unity as key

02:30:21.040 was not really referenced at all in any sense. I mean, and even unity, I got excited when I saw

02:30:28.640 references to unity, but they were all opportunity or community. Those were the only references to

02:30:33.960 unity, never as a standalone word. Vitor Marciano has been highly involved in Alberta politics and

02:30:40.080 Canadian politics. And he actually joined us when we did the live show around the conservative

02:30:44.420 leadership race results. He joins us on the line now. Vitor, good to have you on. Thanks very much

02:30:49.960 for joining us today. What did you hear as a Westerner? Did you hear anything that made you

02:30:54.720 feel, yeah, this government is listening to us? No, that didn't show up. If anything, the one

02:31:02.560 thing I heard was that this is far and away the most expensive throne speech in Canadian history

02:31:08.380 ever. It was a long grab bag of promises, all of which will be billions of dollars. And it's about

02:31:17.900 crazy levels of spending. I think it was Pierre Pauly ever had the best joke about it. He said

02:31:23.080 that the only really true statement in the throne speech was, we owe an immense debt. And then you

02:31:28.220 stop there. Well, the debt's going to get much more immense. I mean, this is, it's a grab bag

02:31:35.020 of billion dollar price tag issues none of which seem specifically targeted towards getting the

02:31:43.900 country to work again and and the ones where you say well if they were sincere about it maybe we

02:31:48.400 might make some progress things like actually creating inter-provincial free trade um and

02:31:53.640 having trade across canada those were the ones that had the least amount of details on it and

02:31:58.940 the least sense of we have a plan that we will work with the provinces to get this done or we

02:32:04.080 introduce legislation that will head in that direction. Those phrases didn't come with the

02:32:09.600 items that conceivably could attach themselves to the issues that matter to Western Canadians.

02:32:16.240 Vitor, does that surprise you at all? I mean, I was legitimately a little bit surprised to hear

02:32:20.480 talk of reducing interprovincial trade barriers. It's not really something that you think of

02:32:24.880 as a liberal talking point or a liberal pledge. That might have been a pleasant surprise, like

02:32:28.960 you said, if there were more details, there weren't any. Was there anything else in the

02:32:32.800 throne speech had jumped out at you um sort of a grab bag of policy items and a grab bag of

02:32:40.480 places where the federal government is either going to actively interfere in provincial jurisdiction

02:32:47.040 or uh mess around using their spending power in a way that's going to cause all sorts of

02:32:52.320 complications um you know just a little one but there's the mention in there of the federal

02:32:57.280 government getting involved in water on the prairies uh you know uh whiskeys for drinking

02:33:03.520 waters for fighting over and i'm not sure that i want the federal government uh making irrigation

02:33:11.000 decisions about water in southern alberta and southern saskatchewan and the mere fact that

02:33:16.440 it made it into the throne speech i'm going i can't think of a single person in western canada

02:33:21.740 around the prairies who said you know we need the federal government to set up an agency to run our

02:33:26.160 irrigation systems. Well, that's the most important part of it, though, Vitor, and sorry to interrupt

02:33:30.380 you, is that it's not even like they're tackling the issue and laying out how they're going to

02:33:33.580 tackle it. It's creating a new bureaucracy, which traditionally people in the West have tried to

02:33:38.540 run away from, the National Energy Board being the most notable example. Having a national

02:33:43.380 bureaucracy to deal with resource issues does not work out well for the West. Totally. And

02:33:48.380 and i mean my surprise in this was that there were so many programs where you could see a growing

02:33:57.180 federal government interference in issues where they don't really have jurisdiction but they do

02:34:03.020 have the ability to borrow tremendous amounts of money uh or print it uh and therefore they're

02:34:08.460 going to get involved in it i mean in some ways i think the million jobs might not sound as crazy

02:34:13.820 if you think about the fact that it might be, you know, 800,000 federal government employees

02:34:19.500 interfering in things all over the place. There wasn't a big grand vision. There weren't any of

02:34:25.340 the really dream projects that the progressives were calling for. You know, we don't have a

02:34:34.140 quote-unquote green new deal, but we do have clean power, clean energy, clean technology

02:34:40.140 all over this this throne speech the word green didn't show up but the word clean was there all

02:34:44.380 over the time and it's this grab bag list of things where in some ways i think it's almost

02:34:50.940 more dangerous than a big vision because at least with a big vision you have a vision you can measure

02:34:55.980 against it with a thousand little projects you have a thousand little opportunities for waste

02:35:00.620 and interference and and really frustrating canadians all over the place so um you know

02:35:08.620 i think it was tone deaf to the big issues that the country is facing but i think it was designed

02:35:13.180 minority government wise and possibly pre-election wise to have as many sops to as many interest

02:35:19.820 groups in the lead up to a potential election as possible i mean uh it ended up being less of a

02:35:25.500 throne speech than i thought it would be but it kicked the can down the road to the budget

02:35:33.500 which is now in some ways um you know we know this year's a write-off we know this year is

02:35:40.900 going to be five uh 400 500 billion dollar deficit you know it's at 365 right now but

02:35:47.640 we're not done the year by any stretch of the imagination and any hiccup that the government

02:35:51.100 can create to spend more money will happen but there are indications in this throne speech

02:35:56.620 that the deficit for next year is going to be in the 200 to 300 million dollar range

02:36:03.380 including the fact that they're going to carry over the wage subsidy into next summer.

02:36:10.740 That's an implication that the government is going to be actively involved in interfering

02:36:15.340 with Canadian businesses all over the place, and that they expect us to be locked down and 0.99

02:36:21.680 operating under new weird rules for a long time, and therefore they're just going to write blank

02:36:28.660 checks to pay for it. That's deeply concerning. That's a really good point, Vitor. You mentioned

02:36:33.260 that you thought that the throne speech was a bit tone deaf. One of the things I've noticed

02:36:37.940 recently is that the conversations that folks are having in central Canada, Laurentian Lareef

02:36:42.320 elites, you know, they're talking about Justin Trudeau's live address tonight, and they're

02:36:46.200 talking about, again, this grand new vision. It seems very different from the conversations that

02:36:50.840 are having in Alberta. I know a new book just got released today called Moment of Truth,

02:36:55.480 How to Think About Alberta's Future by Jack Mintz, Tom Flanagan, and Ted Morton, who are three sort

02:37:00.480 intellectual giants out there in Alberta. We're hosting an event tomorrow night with Dr. Barry

02:37:05.760 Cooper debating Stockwell Day on the future of Confederation and whether or not Alberta and

02:37:10.000 Saskatchewan would be better off independent. Are you hearing that sort of, you know, drastic take

02:37:16.480 like, you know, we just can't stand to live in this situation anymore where our concerns are

02:37:21.680 being ignored and our economy is being destroyed in some ways intentionally? I mean, none of that

02:37:27.440 stuff was addressed in this throne speech what do you think about that well i i think there is

02:37:33.040 nothing in this throne speech to tone down that problem and there's a few things that if they get

02:37:37.920 done improperly will actually accentuate the problem and i think not only do you have a book

02:37:42.720 coming out with major thinkers you know this week we've seen the national post run three or four

02:37:47.440 columns based on different chapters in the book and you you know you're having non-albertans talk

02:37:53.440 about it you know when derek bernie talks about the fact that does alberta need better bilateral

02:37:57.680 trade arrangements with the united states that should get the attention of the laurentian elites

02:38:03.440 you know we're talking about a former ambassador canadian ambassador to the united states talking

02:38:09.040 about the fact that one part of canada needs to develop its own unique relationships if we can't

02:38:13.200 get a problem solved it's a big deal um albertans are sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop

02:38:20.560 we've had another miserable year in agriculture so that's four out of the last five years that

02:38:25.840 are miserable in agriculture and that deals with the the issue that uh even when there's

02:38:30.560 federal support of agriculture it's based on the uh the olympic model they throw out your

02:38:34.880 best year they throw out your worst year and then they average that the other three years that are

02:38:38.240 left well the three years they're averaging are not good years so there's not going to be

02:38:41.920 agricultural support the energy industry is doing horribly uh downtown calgary is gutted

02:38:48.960 downtown edmonton is now gutted because of the pandemic so you've got tourism and um

02:38:55.440 entertainment industry and uh food and hotels you know there isn't a bright spot in the alberta or

02:39:03.040 saskatchewan economy right now and i don't think the federal government really got the tone right

02:39:10.400 i mean the one mention of albertans was to sort of imply that alberta's innovation might get them

02:39:16.640 out of the way with clean technologies. Okay, sort of. But, you know, a speech that doesn't

02:39:24.440 recognize the unique and different problems that different parts of the country are having right

02:39:28.960 now is darndaff. I want to just bring into the discussion here some of the reactions from

02:39:35.820 other parties. Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet says that Ottawa has not listened to the

02:39:42.480 urgent demands of Quebec and seems to be indicating the bloc won't be supporting it a house leader

02:39:47.460 for the or deputy leader rather for the conservatives Candace Bergen said the conservatives will not

02:39:51.660 be supporting the throne speech as we kind of expected it comes down to the NDP I want to read

02:39:57.120 a tweet from Jagmeet Singh here he says today the government's throne speech was full of promises

02:40:01.680 we've heard before a throne speech is just words on paper and this PM has shown us that his actions

02:40:07.260 don't match his empty words it doesn't need to be this way new democrats will keep fighting for you

02:40:12.060 and the help you need. So now if the NDP doesn't support the throne speech, then we might be headed

02:40:19.420 to an election. If they do, this was just idle bostering. What do you think is going to happen,

02:40:24.560 Vitor? I think the NDP will support the throne speech. I think the government will introduce

02:40:29.320 legislation in one or two areas, even before they'll delay the throne speech vote, get enough

02:40:35.520 necessary NDP things into the chain of activity in the House of Commons, and then the NDP will

02:40:44.240 back it. I think that the government is losing its courage for an early election a little bit.

02:40:52.260 I think they're worried about possibly a second wave, though I think it's largely going to be

02:40:59.520 driven by who can tell what the difference between the flu and COVID is going to be over the next

02:41:03.600 month or two so it's going to be really complicated um but they're worried about that uh i i just

02:41:09.780 think that uh we're not getting an election right away but a lot can change between now and the

02:41:16.300 budget because i'm not sure uh i'm not sure how canadians are going to react to a budget that

02:41:22.840 that says you know all right you know we've improved over 2020 the 2021 deficit will only

02:41:28.880 be 300 billion uh remember the largest deficit before this uh was stephen harper's great

02:41:35.600 recession deficit and i think it was in the range of 55 56 billion dollars um this year's deficit

02:41:41.840 is in the range of well it's headed towards twice the amount the government usually spends for the

02:41:48.800 entire expenditure and i think the implications of if you were to add up all of these pieces in

02:41:55.120 the throne speech if they all get implemented uh i can't imagine that we'd have a deficit less than

02:42:00.560 200 billion dollars for next year well and that's part of the concern vitor because the auditor

02:42:05.840 general again said that the government is going to run out of fiscal capacity in one to two years

02:42:10.400 and we didn't really see any anything uh addressing that whatsoever what do you think though i i i

02:42:18.080 feel like the polling shows that canadians aren't too worried about spending that they're more

02:42:21.520 worried about COVID and the response. Do you think that Trudeau is going to sort of get away with it?

02:42:26.400 It looks like the deficit will be half a trillion dollars this year or a little bit less. Do you

02:42:31.520 think Trudeau will get away with it just given the extreme circumstances we're sort of facing here?

02:42:36.320 Yes and that's a problem. Something has gone on in Canada that I can't quite explain.

02:42:44.400 We're not having the same policy debates about the reaction to COVID that they are having in

02:42:50.480 the united states or that they're having in great britain or france or spain or even italy i mean

02:42:58.400 it's the media and the laurentian elites the institutions in our country have closed ranks

02:43:05.680 around the government's actions and the and the government's plural government's actions

02:43:11.680 on uh on covid and the federal government's you know printing of money on covid and we're

02:43:16.720 We're not having this discussion here. So because we're not having the debate and the discussion, the majority of Canadians, you know, and then that's composed of Canadians on the left and Canadians in the center are feeling like, well, it's probably a good thing that we're printing a whole bunch of money and having a series of policies that are designed on taking no chances and taking no risk and dealing with this pandemic in a different way than we ever have before.

02:43:41.360 um i'm terrified that those chickens will come home to roost in a couple of years time

02:43:50.300 because i think as the united states almost regardless of what happens in the election

02:43:54.460 sort of smartens up post-election uh as britain uh looks at this and starts to change their

02:44:01.320 approach to covid as the europeans you know have gone forward with their schools open and no big

02:44:07.160 debates no no panic response to oh my god little johnny's going to get sick because they've looked

02:44:12.700 at the data and said little johnny's not going to get sick um i think a whole bunch of these

02:44:18.120 other countries are going to end up spending less in dealing with covid than we are and come 2024

02:44:23.660 2025 they're going to be in a better position to jump out of it than we are um i think the

02:44:29.980 government of canada's response was based on the fact that everybody everywhere was going to print

02:44:34.360 money forever um but that doesn't actually seem to be the case and the problem with getting down the

02:44:42.040 direction of modern monetary theory and printing money is it's kind of based on the principle that

02:44:49.560 everybody will acknowledge that each of their own individual emperors are wearing clothes

02:44:54.440 when they're not but if you're the only if you have the only naked emperor you got a problem

02:44:59.800 And we run the risk of, come 2024, having had the only naked emperor for a three-year period.

02:45:06.420 I know you're very skilled in the art of campaigning.

02:45:09.920 If you're Justin Trudeau, right now you've got Aaron O'Toole in quarantine, Yves-Francois

02:45:14.940 Blachet in quarantine, Jagmeet Singh that really doesn't seem to seize his moments.

02:45:19.740 Trudeau's got a primetime speaking slot blocked off on all the networks tonight.

02:45:24.660 If you're Trudeau, what do you do to sell this?

02:45:27.540 You actually do what Trudeau's always done.

02:45:29.400 he's going to go on tonight. He's going to do his serious, loud whisper that he uses to

02:45:36.880 demonstrate how deeply he cares and feels about how everybody is dealing with this complicated

02:45:44.460 and unprecedented problem. And you're going to essentially try to give the media clips of this

02:45:50.460 throne speech that aren't being delivered by the poisonous governor general so that tomorrow's

02:45:55.380 news stories are all justin trudeau trudeau is the face of it and not her excellency exactly

02:46:01.320 and um you know you're also going to remind every new democrat voter in the country

02:46:08.120 that uh that pretty much everything on their wish list short of free education for all and

02:46:15.700 aoc's green new deal is in this throne speech and you're probably going to even remind them

02:46:22.340 of a long list of green technologies and sorry, clean technology, clean energy, clean everything

02:46:29.900 else they mentioned is in there. You're going to use the word clean 25 times. It shows up in this,

02:46:35.760 you know, green is only in the throne speech once, but clean is in there 12 times. I think

02:46:41.280 this is going to be the new liberal word. I think they've figured out that it's the one that moves

02:46:45.960 swing voters in the middle rather than green and I think he's gonna be farther

02:46:53.520 up in the polls tomorrow than he was today because nobody's thinking about

02:46:58.560 how to pay for all of this but Vitor we were assured by the PMO that his speech

02:47:04.020 was not political tonight that it was a matter of national urgency that he had

02:47:07.840 to speak to Canadians the exact night of the throne speech um in many ways this

02:47:13.620 was an incredibly political throne speech. All throne speeches really are, but this one was

02:47:20.480 particularly political. And I expect that tonight's prime ministerial address will be

02:47:27.300 rather political. And then, of course, the responses will be rather political. So by

02:47:32.020 tomorrow, nobody cares about the fact that he lied to the major media about doing a political speech.

02:47:36.660 I'm glad we picked up on that a little, Vitor, because, I mean, I don't remember past throne

02:47:42.740 speeches like so vividly but to me that throne speech felt so partisan it was just so cringeworthy

02:47:48.340 to hear the governor general repeating all of these liberal talking points and liberal platitudes

02:47:53.060 i i do kind of remember that uh stephen harper had in his throne speech that uh governor general

02:47:58.820 david johnson read uh something about the economic recovery plan and the media thought that was sort

02:48:03.540 of offside because that was what uh harper was calling his budgets and that was like a big

02:48:08.980 controversy uh but but tonight it was like really really over the top rhetoric wise is is it is is

02:48:16.100 it just me that i'm i'm more sensitive to liberal bs or or was that a very partisan throne speech

02:48:22.420 that was a throne speech filled with buzzwords and virtue signals and an amalgamation of all of the

02:48:29.060 little um uh sucking up to intersectionality that you would expect from this prime minister

02:48:38.020 but it's only you that's going to comment on it you know cbc uh the globe and mail um ctv none of

02:48:45.060 them will will observe that it was a a partisan speech and and all of these tropes that are in it

02:48:51.940 that normal canadians go what does that even mean or they don't know how to define all of those

02:48:56.820 things will be viewed as natural and important and they should be there so that's it's nobody

02:49:04.340 in the Canadian Laurentian elites or the mainstream media is going to comment on the

02:49:09.800 language and the language choices of the throne speech, even though there are so many phrases

02:49:14.480 in there that the average human being doesn't know what they mean. I had to look one up. I'd

02:49:20.380 never heard of the phrase active transit before. Do you know what active transit is? It's riding

02:49:26.340 your bicycle and walking. Otherwise you're known as moving. Otherwise moving. But so, you know,

02:49:33.400 the throne speech talks about how they'll provide more money to support transit and active transit.

02:49:37.880 And I was like, what the heck is that? So I got into Google and discovered that active transit

02:49:42.520 is walking and riding your bike. I'd like to see how the government

02:49:46.600 plans on supporting walking. Like how are they going to support Canadians walking?

02:49:52.040 Especially when they're telling people to stay in their homes for the second wave.

02:49:54.920 Exactly. You get to walk around in circles in your backyard.

02:49:58.360 I'm from Edmonton where they developed a program to subsidize people buying electric bicycles.

02:50:03.400 So, you know, where the wokeness of our municipal government was such that they thought it was a good idea to give rich people a little bit of a bonus so they could buy $3,000 to $6,000 bicycles.

02:50:16.140 So I wouldn't be surprised if the commitment to active transit doesn't turn into something like that in the relatively near future.

02:50:23.720 vitor marciano a political campaign strategist former senior advisor to the wild rose party in

02:50:32.980 alberta great to talk to you as always thanks very much for coming on and breaking down the big

02:50:37.380 things in the speech and the things we wish were in there thank you very much for having me always

02:50:42.120 good to talk to vitor he was actually i think like our most popular guest we should have just like

02:50:45.580 taken a big extended break during the conservative leadership show uh the one that went on eight

02:50:50.260 hours and just let him take the reins because it's always good to uh to talk to vtor so thanks

02:50:54.140 again to him for coming on and all of our guests we had a we had a good time today yeah different

02:50:58.680 than our last live show andrew that ended up going on eight hours we were joking before because

02:51:03.140 as soon as we found out that trudeau was going to go live at 6 30 we're like uh maybe we should

02:51:07.600 just keep yeah because that one ended at i think like 1 30 a.m the last one so yeah that is coming

02:51:13.280 tonight but we're not keeping the live show going that far if you want to tune into his remarks you

02:51:17.140 can do so anywhere on network television, apparently, because they've hijacked the airwaves.

02:51:21.480 Yeah, look, there's only so much of this, you know, political partisan stuff that one person

02:51:26.300 can take. So I don't know that I could sit and do another live show surrounding Justin Trudeau's.

02:51:31.240 I did like Vitor's impression of Justin Trudeau with the loud, sincere whisper. That's exactly

02:51:37.380 what Trudeau does. And it sort of drives everyone crazy. But anyway, Andrew, I think this has been

02:51:44.520 a great show. It's been interesting to break it all down. Again, nothing really groundbreaking or

02:51:49.840 jaw-dropping from that throne speech other than just a whole bunch of cringeworthiness and a lot

02:51:54.140 of liberal platitudes packed in to a throne speech. What are your big takeaways, though?

02:52:01.000 Yeah, I think that's it. It's really just trying to turn the page without really having anything

02:52:06.600 new to do. It's the liberals just trying to remind everyone of all these other things. But

02:52:10.480 in a lot of ways, it could backfire when people remember that, well, wait, you've promised this

02:52:14.480 before. You've told us you'll do pharma care before. You've told us you'll ban single-use

02:52:18.360 plastics. You've told us you'll do this. So I think in some respects, it may backfire,

02:52:22.380 which means the messaging is key. Just to recap on where the other parties are standing,

02:52:26.800 the Bloc Québécois seems to be against it. Candace Bergen, the deputy leader of the

02:52:30.800 Conservatives, just said moments ago that the Conservatives are ready for an election

02:52:35.000 if that's where things go. And the NDP have said they're not happy with it, but they haven't gone

02:52:41.060 so far as to say they'll vote against it. So that's going to be something to watch in the

02:52:44.700 coming days. Yeah, honestly, hearing Jagmeet Singh's comments there, that's a stronger position

02:52:50.140 than I thought he would take. And that actually makes me think that maybe we are heading towards

02:52:53.920 election. But Andrew, we're in this sort of partisan jostling game where no one wants to be

02:52:59.120 the party that triggers an election, just as we've been talking about, just in case there is

02:53:04.100 a sort of second surge. And it's interesting because so much of the media narrative in Canada

02:53:09.860 is framed by what's going on in the united states so we have so much hand-wringing and condemnation

02:53:15.300 towards an american president and the idea of forcing people to go out to the polls and voting

02:53:20.580 and how potentially dangerous that could be and yet we may find ourselves in the same situation

02:53:24.660 here in canada you know in british columbia they've called an election and it was really

02:53:28.820 an opportunistic move by the ndp government out there to sort of take advantage of a post

02:53:33.860 covid boost in popularity of premier john horgan uh you know all the premiers have a boost in in

02:53:40.820 in their uh approval rating right now just because they're doing so much and people are sort of

02:53:45.860 grateful that the fact that the government is there to sort of step in uh and and yet you know

02:53:51.540 again forcing people out into a vote in the midst of what could be a large surge in a second wave

02:53:57.140 uh might not be viewed too kindly and so i think each of the political party's risks that no one

02:54:02.820 wants to be the one to trigger the election just in case there is that negative backlash

02:54:07.940 yeah i think you're very right there and it's a big theme no one wants to be the one to have

02:54:11.940 forced it so the conservatives uh right now are going out on a limb and saying yeah we're ready

02:54:16.500 if the ndp doesn't and the ndp are going to do the same thing and and even trudeau who i think

02:54:20.900 right now would benefit from an election doesn't want to be the one to call it so you've got a lot

02:54:25.060 of people that i think would be okay going back to the polls but they don't want to be seen as too

02:54:28.980 aggressively pursuing that for the reasons you just mentioned. Absolutely. Well, I think it's

02:54:33.900 been a great show. I think that doing these True North updates is a great way to kind of cover the

02:54:38.600 day and make it so that Canadians have an alternative. They don't have to tune into the

02:54:42.440 CBC. They don't have to tune in to the mainstream media to get this kind of political news, Andrew.

02:54:48.460 And again, I think it's great to be part of the True North community and hearing what our viewers

02:54:53.860 are saying. You know, we read the comments. And so if you do have any comments, let us know what

02:54:58.000 you think. Do you think that we are going into an election? Was there anything that surprised you

02:55:02.260 in the throne speech that Andrew and I didn't pick up on? It'd be really interesting to hear

02:55:07.480 from our audience and our viewers on what you think of this whole deal.

02:55:13.680 And also, I will say, don't forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel so you always can keep an

02:55:18.340 eye out for when we're going to do these in the future because it seems to be working. People

02:55:21.500 like it. So as things happen and there is an appetite for a live show, we'll keep doing these

02:55:26.640 as long as you keep walking and watching.

02:55:28.400 And also you can head on over to tnc.news

02:55:30.380 and click donate to support the work that we're doing.

02:55:33.660 As Candice and I have said time and time again,

02:55:35.600 we aren't getting a huge bailout money from the government.

02:55:38.160 We aren't part of the CBC $1.3 billion.

02:55:40.720 The work that we do is supported

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02:55:45.720 And thank you very much to all of you who tuned in today.

02:55:48.160 And just final shout out to our behind the scenes team.

02:55:51.400 You know, it's not just Andrew and I doing all the work.

02:55:54.000 We've got producer Oliver McKenzie and Phil Trin working tirelessly to give us

02:55:59.700 give us content, make us look smart. So thanks guys for all your work behind the

02:56:03.460 scenes. And thank you everyone for tuning in. We'll be back again with more live

02:56:07.460 content. Don't forget to check out our website tnc.news. I'm Candice Malcolm

02:56:11.880 joined by Andrew Lawton and we'll see you next time.

02:56:24.000 Thank you.

02:56:54.000 You

Juno News - September 23, 2020

LIVE Coverage of the Speech from the Throne

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