The Speech from the Throne, entitled ‘A Strong Canada. A Strong Economy.’, demonstrates the government’s recognition that while it must address the country’s short-term economic priorities it must also lay out a strategy for Canada’s long-term competitiveness.
According to the Speech from the Throne the federal government will complete the second year of its economic stimulus commitments under Canada’s Economic Action Plan and return Canada to fiscal balance. This has been a core position of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and its network of more than 340 local chambers of commerce and boards nationwide.
In addition to winding down economic stimulus spending by March 31, 2011, the government said it intends to contain its own costs through such measures as freezing the salaries of the Prime Minister, ministers, members of parliament and senators, as well as by freezing ministerial and departmental budgets. The government will also take measures to improve its efficiency through an aggressive review of its administrative services and departmental spending. It will also eliminate unnecessary federal appointments.
The Canadian Chamber has also told the government that while it is critical to eliminate the federal deficit so that it is not left to future generations to shoulder, increasing the tax burden on businesses and consumers will only slow our economic recovery. This is why the government’s commitment to balance its books without raising taxes is good news for Canada’s businesses and all Canadians.
From the early days of the recession, the Canadian Chamber has said that the government needs to look beyond the recession and equip the Canadian economy to “hit the ground running” in the global economy. We are heartened to see that longer-term initiatives for which the Canadian Chamber has advocated were reflected as priorities in the Speech from the Throne. These include the government’s commitment to a strategy for a digital economy, strengthening intellectual property rights and copyright protection, fostering innovation by expanding opportunities for the commercialization of research and post-doctoral studies, as well as ensuring the country has the skilled workforce it needs through improving the education and training opportunities for Aboriginal Canadians. The Canadian Chamber also looks forward to the re-introduction of an amended spam bill that works for business and consumers.
The importance of the economic contribution made by Canada’s small and medium-sized businesses and the need to reduce the regulatory burdens they face, were specifically acknowledged.
The need to expand the scope of Canada’s international trade, fight trade protectionism, increase the amount of capital available to Canada’s businesses by lifting foreign ownership restrictions in key sectors, negotiating new air agreements and the creation of a national securities regulator have long been forwarded by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce as measures to make us more competitive.
Dealing with climate change remains a real challenge for Canada. We welcome the continued recognition that this must be done in a manner that acknowledges our economic integration with the United States.
The Canadian Chamber is particularly pleased to see the government acknowledge the need to improve the regulatory oversight and project approvals regime for environmental and energy projects. This was outlined in the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s 2009 policy paper Powering Up Canadian Prosperity as being one of the essential steps government must take to enable Canada to fully leverage its energy sector’s potential.
On January 29, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the appointment of five new Conservative senators. With these appointments, 50 of 105 senators are Conservative, 49 are Liberal, two are Progressive Conservative and two are independent. The new senators are Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu (QC), Bob Runciman (ON), Vim Kochhar (ON), Elizabeth (Beth) Marshall (NL), and Rose-May Poirier (NB). Their biographies are available at here.
These Senate appointments follow a January 19 Cabinet shuffle, which resulted in changes to the following portfolios:
Treasury Board: Hon. Stockwell Day
Public Works: Hon. Rona Ambrose
International Trade: Hon. Peter Van Loan
Public Safety: Hon. Vic Toews
Labour: Hon. Lisa Raitt
Natural Resources: Hon. Christian Paradis
Veterans Affairs: Hon. Jean-Pierre Blackburn
National Revenue: Hon. Keith Ashfield
Minister of State-Seniors: Hon. Diane Ablonczy
Minister of State-Small Business and Tourism: Hon. Rob Moore
The complete list of federal Cabinet ministers is available here.
Parliament has been prorogued until Wednesday, March 3 when there will be a Speech from the Throne. The budget speech will be delivered on Thursday, March 4.
What prorogation means for:
Government Bills
All government bills not having received Royal Assent cease to exist, i.e., have “died on the Order Paper”. If the government wishes to proceed with any of these bills, it will need to re-introduce them.
Private Members’ Bills (PMBs)
Unlike government bills, PMBs do not necessarily die with prorogation. Any Private Members’ Bill before the House at the time of prorogation will automatically reinstituted if the sponsoring Member of Parliament so wishes. For PMBs currently before committee, the clock for their review is reset to 0:00 and committees have a further 60 sitting days to study them.
Committees
All committees are dissolved and must be reconstituted once the House returns.
Legislation before the Senate
All bills before the Senate die on the Order Paper.
Speech from the Throne and the Budget
The Speech from the Throne and the Budget will be the subjects of votes of confidence in the government. Should the government lose either of these votes, Parliament would be dissolved and there would be a general election.
Canadian Business Agenda
The most recent edition of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s newsletter to parliamentarians, Canadian Business Agenda, is available here.
Bill C-300: An Act respecting Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, Oil or Gas in Developing Countries
On November 19, 2009, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development to outline concerns with this Private Member’s Bill which would impose financial penalties and reputation damage upon Canadian oil, gas and mining companies operating in developing countries that are judged to be breaching yet-to-be determined corporate social responsibility guidelines. In his presentation Hon. Perrin Beatty outlined the harm this bill, if passed, could cause to Canadian extractive companies, their employees and the citizens of the developing countries it is meant to protect.
On September 15, 2009, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance to present its recommendations for the next federal budget. Although Canada’s economy is slowly transitioning from recession to recovery, economic uncertainty and market volatility are expected to remain high. The Chamber stressed to the members of the Committee the need to ensure that announced stimulus measures are implemented promptly and effectively. It also emphasized the importance of charting a path back to fiscal discipline. We cannot run deficits indefinitely without eroding our competitive standing, productivity and future prosperity. Significant program spending restraint will be necessary to avoid structural deficits. The Canadian Chamber’s pre-budget submission and presentation to the Finance Committee are available by clicking here.
