Speech from the Throne: Part III

Tonight, Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean opened the 2nd Session of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The following is NOT a transcript, but my rather frenzied notes on the Throne Speech. The notes begin here, in Part I. A reminder for non-Canadians: this speech was written by our Conservative Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.
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...Part III

Trade

• Guv is proud of concluding the Canada-European Free Trade Association negotiations (June 2007)
• Canada should "open up new markets for Canadian innovators"

Anniversaries (Honestly...it's like a Church newsletter!)

• next year we mark the 400th anniversary of Quebec City and remember that "Canada was born in French" (Rolling mah eyes); "Quebecois form a Nation within Canada"
• 250th anniversary of Nova Scotia's Representative Assembly
• 150th anniversary of the Crown Colony of British Columbia

Federalism

• Anniversaries and history remind us of the importance of "strenthening our union" and reinvesting in "neglected" areas, e.g. trade, defense, public safety, and security (huh?)
• "Constitutional jurisdiction should be respected"; there should be limits on federal spending power for new shared-cost programs in areas of provincial jurisdiction. (oh...ok, this is the part Duceppe was moaning about on Don Newman's CBC after-party)
• Canada needs to establish free trade across provincial boundaries b/c "hurts our competitive position"
• Guv will use fed trade & commerce power (again: Duceppe no likey)

Democratic reform
Guv reintroducing several measures, including:

1. direct voting or selections of senators and limitations on their tenure ("Canada is not well served by our Senate in [its] current form")
2. voting ID: confirm visual ID of voters
3. renew commitment to official languages
4. Aboriginal peoples: FN on reserves will receive the same protection as other Canadians under Human Rights Act; fairness to land claims process; "Truth & Reconciliation" process for FN peoples harmed by reserve schools

(Return to Part II or Continue to Part IV)