‘Trudeau Liberals fail to take timely and decisive action:’ MP Arnold on throne speech

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But the Conservatives say the plan has no measures to control government spending and will not support it.

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Local MP Mel Arnold issued a statement after the speech.

The second-term politician said the throne speech was “yet another demonstration of the Trudeau government’s failures to take timely and decisive action to protect Canada in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

“Despite being warned and advised to take prompt action by multiple government departments and agencies, the Prime Minister and his cabinet have consistently delayed in taking the actions necessary to protect Canadians,” stated Arnold. “Over 9,200 lives have been lost in Canada to this pandemic while more lives continue to be lost; nationally, daily confirmed cases continue to rise to levels experienced in April while new cases in British Columbia have risen to unprecedented levels.”

Arnold said Trudeau must also take responsibility for the scandals that have emerged in recent months adding the affairs and his decision to dissolve Parliament and wasted six weeks to evade investigation during a crisis has prevented Parliament from working on behalf of Canadians.

“Supports for workers and employers were delayed, excluded many applicants that needed them and created disincentives for Canadians to join our economic recovery. Canadian workers, business owners and indeed all who depend on our economy will continue to face economic harm and uncertainty until the crisis is brought under control.”

Central Okanagan Similkameen Nicola MP Dan Albas of the Conservatives was critical of Trudeau for making more promises that he will not keep.

“To use an analogy, a session of Parliament is not unlike a dinner plate.There is only so much room to load up on food. If far too much food is loaded onto the plate, only so much can be eaten, and the rest is thrown away. If you have ever been served an overloaded plate of food, odds are you will pick and prioritize the items your prefer and invariably decide what items are left behind.This is why prioritizing is critically important when a government sets its legislative agenda to get bills through the house,” said Albas.

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The fate of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority Liberal government hangs in the balance as Parliament resumes all normal operations today for the first time in six months.

Opposition parties will give their official responses to Wednesday’s speech from the throne but they’ve already signalled that Trudeau can’t count on support from any of them to survive the eventual confidence vote and avoid plunging the country into an election in the midst of a second wave of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

The Conservatives were unequivocal; they will not support the throne speech.

The Bloc Quebecois was almost as categorical; Bloc MPs will not consider supporting the throne speech unless Trudeau agrees to fork over at least $28 billion more each year in unconditional transfer payments to provinces for health care, as demanded unanimously last week by premiers.

Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet is giving the government just one week to accede to that demand, in the expectation that the confidence vote on the throne speech will take place next week.

That leaves New Democrats as the Liberals’ most likely dance partner but NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has conditions of his own; legislation assuring that Canadians left jobless due to the pandemic won’t have their emergency benefits cut and that Canadians who fall ill will get paid sick leave.

(With files from The Canadian Press)