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By The Canadian Press

Liberal throne speech pledges to work with opposition MPs, welcome their ideas

Dec 5, 2019 | 3:12 PM

OTTAWA – Justin Trudeau has launched his second mandate and a new era of minority Liberal government with a throne speech light on details but heavy on the need for all parties to work together.

The speech from the throne, penned by the Prime Minister’s Office but read by Gov. Gen. Julie Payette, strikes a humble tone as the government appeals to opposition parties to help make the new minority Parliament work.

It reiterates the Liberals’ campaign promises to take stronger action to fight climate change, lower taxes for middle-class Canadians, strengthen gun control and take steps towards national pharmacare.

But the speech also makes pointed references to issues that are dear to the NDP and Bloc Quebecois, whose support the Liberals will need to pass legislation and survive confidence votes.

Universal dental care, one of the NDP’s priorities, is cited as an idea worth exploring and, in a nod to one of the Bloc’s priorities, the government promises that dairy farmers impacted by recent trade agreements will be “fully and fairly compensated.”

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The speech also recognizes the regional divisions exposed by the recent election, in which the Liberals were shut out in the oil-producing provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, asserting that those provinces’ economic concerns are “both justified and important.”

(The Canadian Press)