Publishing Date
The Governor General, the Right Honourable Julie Payette, delivered the federal Throne Speech on September 23rd, which highlights the federal government’s priorities as Parliament prepares to resume. The Speech largely focusses on continued efforts to address the pandemic and measures to support an economic recovery, including
Of particular interest to local governments, the Throne Speech commits to:
Economic Development
- Launching a campaign to create 1 million new jobs
- Extending the business wage subsidy – the Canadian Emergency Subsidy – right through the summer
- Further supports for hard-hit sectors like tourism, hospitality, and cultural industries
- Scaling up the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy
- Creating an action plan for women in the economy
- Accelerating timelines of the Universal Broadband Fund to ensure all have access to high speed internet
- Making the largest investment in Canadian history for training to support building new skills, education, and accreditation
- Help to protect regional airline routes cancelled due to COVID-19
- Supporting the manufacturing, natural resource, and energy sectors as they work to transform to meet a net zero emissions future
Climate Action
- Bringing forward a plan to exceed the 2030 climate goal and to legislate the goal of net zero emissions by 2050
- Creating jobs retrofitting homes and buildings
- Investing in reducing the impact of climate-related disasters such as floods and wildfires
- Delivering more transit and active transit options
- Making zero emission vehicles more affordable and investing in more charging stations
- Launching a new fund to attract investments in making zero emission products
- Moving forward with the Clean Power Fund
- Supporting investments in renewable energy and next generation clean energy and technology solutions
Housing
- Adding to the 2017 National Housing Strategy by increasing investments to rapid housing in the short term and with co-ops and not-for-profits in the medium to long term
- Implementing an enhancement to the First Time Home Buyer incentive
Reconciliation
- Legislation by the end of 2020 to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Accelerating the work on the National Action Plan in response to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
- Closing the infrastructure gap in Indigenous communities
Health
- Working with the provinces and territories to set new, national standards for long term care
- Accelerating steps to achieve a national Pharmacare program
Childcare
- Making a significant, long term sustained investment to create a Canada wide early learning and child care system