Scheer, Moe speak out against throne speech

Two prominent Saskatchewan politicians are speaking out against the federal Liberal government’s throne speech.

In a speech read Wednesday by Gov. Gen. Julie Payette, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government made many different promises, including increased investment in green energy, extending the emergency wage subsidy, creating more than one million new jobs, and a slew of other measures.

The federal Conservative Party, along with the Bloc Quebecois, promised their intention to vote against the Liberals in a vote of no confidence.

The NDP will support the minority government if certain demands are met, such as keeping in place benefits for those who have lost their jobs during the pandemic.

Andrew Scheer, the Regina Qu’Appelle MP and former Conservative leader, strongly supports his party’s decision to oppose the Liberals.

“We got the same old, tired promises. Some of these promises are so old, they’re now eligible for the Canadian Pension Plan,” he joked during an exclusive interview with 980 CJME.

“We’ve heard these dozens of times before … which leads me to the conclusion that the decision to have a throne speech and to prorogue Parliament had nothing to do with laying out a vision for this country as we get through the pandemic. It was all about just trying to shut down the investigations into the government’s scandals.”

Scheer pointed specifically at former Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s resignation and the investigation into Trudeau over the WE charity scandal.

Scheer also takes issue with much of the content of the throne speech.

Many of the promises included bumps in spending, something which he believes is unattainable.

“If spending money was the answer, then the problems facing Canada would have been solved long ago. This government does not understand that economic growth and prosperity do not come from government. They come from the free market, from people buying and selling goods and services freely,” he said.

“I’ve checked, I’ve looked, I’ve been behind Parliament many times, and I have never found the money tree that Justin Trudeau believes we can just shake and dole out. The money the government spends must first be collected.”

While Scheer stopped short of outright calling for an election, he signified his disapproval of the Liberal government many times over.

“I don’t see anything in this speech that gives me confidence that Justin Trudeau should be leading Canada through the recovery,” Scheer said.

When it comes to the local level, he believes Trudeau’s policies on the energy sector are particularly harmful.

“We know that the Liberals’ attack on the energy sector has threatened jobs here in Regina … We will be fighting to save Regina jobs, highlighting the consequences of these Liberal taxes on our energy sector,” he concluded.

That is a sentiment that fellow ideological right-winger Premier Scott Moe shares.

Premier Scott Moe (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

“We are seeing nothing in this speech from the throne that addresses any of the concerns that Saskatchewan has put forward,” he said during a media conference.

“If (the NDP) chooses to (support this speech) … they will single-handedly be propping up a minority government and Prime Minister Trudeau to consider what, up until this point, has been nothing short of an assault on Western Canadian industry.”

Moe was particularly insulted by a lack of including Saskatchewan’s concerns in the throne speech.

Moe pointed out that the province was only mentioned twice. Once, it was referred to as one of the provinces that participates in the government’s COVID-19 contact tracing app. The other reference to Saskatchewan was quite difficult for Moe to hear.

“It was with respect to how they are going to transfer energy sector workers out of the actual energy sector,” he said.

“We will not be supporting this speech from the throne. We would encourage all MPs to not support it. It simply is not a speech with much substance, most certainly (not) any substance around supporting any of the industries that create wealth and build our communities in this province.”