Apparently the Throne Speech is 6000 words long and will take a whopping hour and a half to deliver. Let's crunch some numbers.
Assume the standard policy announcement goes as follows: "This government is committed to job creation in Canada following the most severe crisis in decades. Corporation tax will be reduced to incentivise hiring and investment". Twenty-six words. Political BS brings it up to, say, 35. We further assume 15% on either end of the speech is introduction, self-congratulation, ordinary administration, grandstanding and general bells and whistles.
I therefore expect 150 policy initiatives or changes to be announced. It'd better be close: this extended vacation has to yield impressive results or we will fail Canadians who actually trusted the Government to get cracking.
This Throne Speech and budget might be the swan song of this Parliament, while the Liberals play all-in to reverse the Senate majority. We are about to hear our campaign spiel and our to-do list for the next legislative session. There will be no more stalling in Senate committees and Canadians will want an ambitious and sufficiently Tory agenda.
How else can the base be energized to drum up support for a Tory majority? I am sure the PM knows what's at stake, which is why I expect nothing but a political masterpiece.
12 comments:
According to Stephen Taylor who's read the speech now (I haven't), the first half of the speech is all about what they claim to have done already. Which would be 3000 words of self-congratulatory bragging.
Won't be 150 new policies.
But it looks like we will, finally, after all these years, have a national seniors day AND a Vimy Ridge Day to honour WWI veterans (because Memorial Day, which was created to honour WWI veterans isn't good enough).
Not only that, but for the great masses of Canadians who felt that the Governor General's Award for Volunteerism was somehow lacking or GG grandstanding, your prayers have been answered because now we will have a Prime Minister's own Volunteerism Award.
As Ignatieff has already said, the Liberals will have no problem supporting this Throne Speech because there's nothing new, anything of any substance they voted for last year.
Iggy may have voted for the substance last year, but that was because he could block it all in the Senate. They've already said they now won't support the same legislation in the house because they can't do the Senate end-run anymore.
What end-run?
The Liberals "blocking" or even "slowing" Harper's agenda has been an over used lie and excuse by him.
They have done their Constitutional duty, which is to review and as necessary suggest amendments, but no more so than they did under Chretien or Martin. In fact, they amended more pieces of Chretien legislation than Harper's.
In fact, as pointed out in the National Post today, the Senate has passed most of Harper's crime bills faster than the House and without amendment.
By contrast, it was Harper that prorogued Parliament thereby throwing out over half of his own legislative agenda despite claiming his crime bills were urgently needed and that the Bloc were helping child pornographers by not rushing it through the House.
Harper has lost all credibility on the senate file. His "pass the buck/it's always someone else's fault" governing has got to end.
Betts, chez moi you're at times (just) knocking on an open door.
The Government has run out of excuses for not passing ambitious legislation fast and not triggering an election to win a majority.
In May, when the outgoing Tory senator is replaced by a younger Tory, the Senate hold will be solidified. At that moment Harper will have to reveal his cojones and build up to a fall (at the latest) election.
Re Tedd Betts.
"...AND a Vimy Ridge Day to honour WWI veterans (because Memorial Day, which was created to honour WWI veterans isn't good enough)."
Why are (Liberal)Canadians so stupid and so ignorant about their history.
Memorial Day: that's a US holiday. You are Canadian Mr Betts I'll presume;learn your history.
We have Victory (Canada) Day at the same time of year as the US Memorial Day.
Remembrance Day in November is to honour those who fought and died for our freedom. We only honour them once yearly , but clearly you don't know anything about your country. They deserve much more dedication and recognition than just once yearly.
Otherwise, grab a gun and stand a post, Mr Betts, which I doubt highly you would do. Cowards only whine and complain but never act other than in their own self interest.
We are an old democracy, Mr Betts, with a rich history, not a new country just getting our legs.
Brave Anonymous,
My stupid stupid mistake. I fully admit that's a gaffe typing away too quickly and putting down Memorial Day. That is, with no sarcasm in my comment, a pitiable mistake.
Having said that, your response is pretty ignorant and hypocritical and insulting. I'll wager I know a heck of a lot more about this country and its history than you, but we'll never know because you hide behind your anonymity bravely calling others cowards.
But let me ask you this. Remembrance Day was established specifically to honour WWI dead and surviving veterans. To change that day, to me, seems a mockery of their fight which ended formally on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. To play around with that day is insulting and shows total ignorance of the importance of that particular day.
Other wars were grafted on. Why not create a WWII day? In fact, if as you say "they deserve much more dedication and recognition than just once yearly", where do we stop? How does two days really do them justice? Millions of Canadians died, by your ignorant logic, shouldn't we have at least one day per month? If you are going to be ignorant and insulting, the very least you could do is see your own point through to a somewhat logical end.
"...shouldn't we have at least one day per month?"
You're right, we should as they gave the ultimate price. Too bad you say it so sarcastically and don't really believe it.
"I'll wager I know a heck of a lot more about this country and its history than you,..."
I doubt that, nonetheless, reading history in Wikipedia is not the same as understanding and appreciating it and knowing our culture is based on our history; something Liberals are clearly lacking.
Once again you have proven yourself to be a little man and just reinforced that Liberals are out for themselves and not the good of the country.
First, anyone who claims that "Liberals" or "Conservatives" as a whole group don't understand something or have a group tendency this way or that way... is a moron who doesn't know much of anything. Period.
Second, I've spent about two decades as a Canadian historian so my knowledge, unlike apparently yours, extends a bit further beyond Wikipedia.
Your ignorance and self-conceit make any further continuation of this "discussion" meaningless. As a Liberal, I only wish there were more Conservatives like you. It would make getting elected a heck of a lot easier.
Good day, brave anonymouse.
Ummm it's "anonymous " not "anonymouse".
Looks like spelling and critical analysis are not prerequisites for "Canadian historians" (yeah right). However, inability to reason, ad hominem attacks and running away from an argument are. You missed the Hitler analogy.
It seems you are the "Canadian historian" of your mom's basement.
Anonymouse as in cowardly anonymous mouse, idiot.
And what "argument" have even attempted that anyone could even walk away from?
But your last comment reveals to all your level of intelligence. Somehow in your world, an "inability to reason, ad hominem attacks and running away from an argument are" prerequisites to being a historian. Either you are as dumb as you seem to be or you misunderstand a big word like "prerequisite" or you are so full of anger at being schooled by me or hate that you just can't concentrate on what you are typing. Probably all of the foregoing.
Everyone! Chill! The! F#&K! Out!
No Teddy boy, just multi tasking. Plus it was no big deal as I thought you wouldn't even notice as your retorts were so full of errors of all kinds, logical and grammatical.
Time to take your StressTabs as I don't want you stroking out. I'm with Luca on this one; Chill. We need our historians.
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