Liberal Throne Speech abandons rural Canada
December 17, 2021
Throne Speeches formally open a session of Parliament with the government’s agenda. Unfortunately, the Liberal government’s Throne Speech was light on details and ignored many important Canadian communities and industries.
There was not one mention of agriculture or farmers. Farming is the backbone of Canada, and a crucial employer of Manitobans and thousands of constituents in Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa. In fact, rural Canada appears to have been largely forgotten in the Liberal agenda, where they have made dozens of promises to large cities but few mentions of how they will support rural Canada.
There was also no mention of the terrorist organization ISIS, but the Liberals were happy to promise a “leaner” military. It is very clear that by leaner the Liberals mean another Decade of Darkness for Canada’s military, just like what they did to our Armed Forces in the 1990s.
The Liberals also conveniently avoided mentioning that they will be raising taxes on middle-income families, like eliminating the Conservative low-tax plan, cancelling the Universal Child Care Benefit, significantly cutting Tax-Free Savings Accounts, or adding a new high-tax bracket. And with massive deficit spending being planned, young Canadians are going to be responsible for paying off more debt than ever before.
But that’s not all. The Liberals have also proudly promised to implement a carbon tax, which will disproportionately affect low-income people and those living in rural areas who spend a larger proportion of their incomes on energy. The Liberals’ new regulations and taxes show that they have basically declared war on Canada’s rural and natural resource communities.
These are disappointing and telling exclusions from the Trudeau government’s agenda. Ignoring western Canada, cutting our military, and raising taxes are not the right priorities for Canada. You can count on the Official Opposition to continue to stand up for taxpayers and Manitobans.
Robert Sopuck, MP
Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa