Governor General rises above stale promises
THRONE SPEECH
Gov. Gen. Mary Simon stole the show.
It wasn’t just her purple hair, her well-practised French, or the Inuktitut she spoke, in a parliamentary first, while she read the speech from the throne. But it does have to do with that label: “first.” She is, notably, the first Indigenous person appointed to represent the Queen in Canada. It’s a role Simon has decided she will use to make a call to action, and on Tuesday she told the country what was on her mind.
“We must turn the guilt we carry into action,” she said.
She urged parliamentarians to learn more about the lived realities of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities in their ridings, and everyone to embark on a “lifelong journey of healing, respect and understanding.”
“Reconciliation,” Simon said, “is not a single act, nor does it have an end date.”
Simon also urged action on climate change. In case her point wasn’t getting across, she repeated it three times, once in each language. “Our planet is in danger,” she said, in French. “Time is running out.”
While Simon and the Liberals share the same stated goals on climate and reconciliation, her words had a more memorable impact than the Liberals’ laundry list of priorities, lifted from its September election platform.
The speech from the throne is a rare opportunity for governors general to talk about the kind of country they want to see. In 2020, for instance, Julie Payette used the opportunity to convey a greater sense of urgency to the government’s stated priorities.
Back then, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had argued prorogation was necessary to hit the reset button and address the growing inequality
Reconciliation is not a single act, nor does it have an end date. GOVERNOR GENERAL MARY SIMON
gap the pandemic had brought to light.
Payette put it powerfully, speaking of “extreme weather, wildfires, poverty, conflicts, discrimination and inequalities.” She called on Canada’s political leaders to help address the shared hardships facing our planet. She spoke of the work required to “overcome a pandemic,” of the suffering so many had experienced, mourning those who had passed away. She spoke of the immense debt we owe to those serving on the front lines, and she told us to “trust science” to help battle COVID-19.
Despite the controversies that surrounded her office and her failings as governor general, that urgency and clarity stand the test of time. History will undoubtedly conclude the same for Simon.
Simon provided a welcome jolt of freshness. Over the past three throne speeches — in 2019, 2020 and now 2021 — the Liberals have outlined the same desires to help the middle class and fight poverty, to create jobs and clean growth, to address climate change, to achieve progress on gender equality and reconciliation, to fight discrimination and to celebrate our two official languages.
Still, the agenda items in Tuesday’s speech — from strengthening the health-care system, to capping oilsands emissions, to increasing immigration, to following through on a buyback program for banned assault-style weapons — are useful for Canadians to hear, especially as the government still hasn’t released the mandate letters cabinet ministers should have received four weeks ago.
Amid the 3,000-word speech, there were also notable omissions. No clear olive branches offered to the opposition parties. No mention of reforming Employment Insurance, or even of pharmacare. In 2020, that word found its way into the throne speech. In 2019 — unlike on Tuesday — the Liberals even noted “ideas like universal dental care are worth exploring.”
It’s no surprise NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was not a happy camper.
But as Bloc Québécois Leader
Yves-François Blanchet noted, the speech was so vague that there is little to oppose.
While Simon pressed parliamentarians to “collaborate” and “listen to each other,” her words seemed to leave no mark on the Conservative leader.
Erin O’Toole struck an aggressive tone in response, telling Canadians the Liberals’ “ideology is fuelling divisions” and promising that the Conservatives would be the “voice for working Canadians.”
But with Blanchet arguing the speech didn’t go far enough in stopping oil and gas development and O’Toole responding it didn’t go far enough in supporting oil and gas development, it seems the Liberals have once again struck the Goldilocks compromise position.
The question now is not whether the Liberal government will go down in defeat — it won’t.
The real question for the Grits is whether they can stop simply talking about their plans and start delivering on them. All of us, including Simon, are watching.