Regina Leader-Post

Trudeau’s to-do list

Prime minister designate Justin Trudeau has a lot to do, and with a majority in Parliament he can do a lot. Some things he has promised to do, others he will be forced to do, others he has only hinted he might. The National Post’s Joseph Brean breaks dow

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Senate reform

To fix what he described as a “partisan swamp,” Trudeau promised to appoint a panel of experts to recommend potential senators, rather than try to reform or abolish the Senate, for which the Supreme Court of Canada has set the highest possible constituti­onal bar.

Assisted dying

Solving this the old-fashioned way, with new legislatio­n, would require an intense parliament­ary debate for which there is little time before a Supreme Court deadline imposed after it struck down the criminal law against assisting suicide.

Tax cuts

The big-ticket campaign pledge was to cut the tax rate to 20.5 per cent from 22 per cent for middleinco­me earners ($45,000 to $90,000 a year) and boost the rate for higher earners. This is likely to happen soon and take effect in January.

Terror laws

Although Trudeau supported Bill C-51, rather than be wrongfoote­d on the volatile issue of national security, he has pledged to revisit the legislatio­n to ensure it complies with the Charter.

Missing women

As a centrepiec­e of First Nations activism, and a Liberal campaign promise, an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women is likely to be announced soon.

Sentencing

Trudeau has said he supports mandatory minimum sentences for gun and drug crimes in extreme situations, but courts have ruled against so many as cruel and unusual that few remain.

Electoral reform

Trudeau has promised to introduce legislatio­n within 18 months to amend the Elections Act to replace first-past-the-post federal elections with an alternativ­e as yet unspecifie­d.

Unbalanced

Before they left office, the Conservati­ves passed a law requiring balanced budgets except in recessions. Liberals called it a campaign “gimmick” and because it conflicts with Trudeau’s plans to run three deficits in a row, it is doomed to repeal.

Health care

Trudeau promised to invest $3 billion in home care services — easier said than done, as provinces tend to guard their primacy in health-care delivery.

Climate change

The new prime minister is to meet the premiers to prepare a federal framework on climate change for the Paris summit in December.

Infrastruc­ture

They will also likely be consulted on how best to target Trudeau’s infrastruc­ture investment, mindful the economy is growing slower than forecast in the last budget.

Warplanes

As he backs out of the Mideast mission, Trudeau must also extricate Canada from the F-35 stealth fighter jet program and find a new replacemen­t for the aging CF-18s. He expects to save billions this way, earmarked for new ships for the navy.

Prostituti­on

The Tories passed a new law that targets buyers of sex, not sellers, while maintainin­g penalties for sex workers who communicat­e with clients in certain places. Critics, Trudeau among them, fear this will increase their risk by keeping activities undergroun­d.

Census

There have been rumours Trudeau intends to restore the long-form census, abolished over privacy concerns in the Harper era, for which Canada’s top statistici­an resigned in protest.

 ?? PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images files ?? A polar bear walks on fresh ice in Hudson Bay in this 2007 photo. Prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau is
to meet with the premiers to prepare a federal framework on climate change ahead of the Paris summit.
PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images files A polar bear walks on fresh ice in Hudson Bay in this 2007 photo. Prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau is to meet with the premiers to prepare a federal framework on climate change ahead of the Paris summit.
 ?? JONATHAN HAYWARD/ The Canadian Press files ?? The Liberals government may take aim at a Conservati­ve law that
maintains penalties for sex workers who communicat­e with
clients in certain places.
JONATHAN HAYWARD/ The Canadian Press files The Liberals government may take aim at a Conservati­ve law that maintains penalties for sex workers who communicat­e with clients in certain places.

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