While we can all appreciate the need to quickly get the Ontario legislature back in business, a little more time to consider the throne speech would have helped. NDP leader Andrea Horwath gave the speech guarded approval yesterday but Conservative leader Tiny Tim Hudak rejected it. There was little to please either leader. Worse, there was little to capture the imagination of the voters. And Tiny Tim could smell the fear.
The throne speech was long on rhetoric and short on facts. It was supposed to be a feel good speech and all it did was give the impatient among us cramps in our buttocks. And it should be pointed out to the Wynne government that the only people who give a damn about when Ontario gets rid of its deficit is the bond rating service of Standard and Poors.
Throne speeches have changed a bit over the years. They started out as a dull detailing of the legislation to be put forward by the government during a session of parliament. Today, the speech is written to reach the voters and to provide them with an appreciation of what this wonderful, fearless government is going to present during the session and the opposition can only oppose at their peril.
With what we heard yesterday, it was a darn good thing that Andrea Horwath had already promised to support it. No real liberal could support such bilge.
The throne speech was a melange of old and new, the forgotten and the forlorn. Who does not want to help our youth find jobs, improve the skills of our workforce, fix social assistance programs, aid people with disabilities to find employment and build a strong, prosperous province. Now how many times have we heard that?
There was nothing new in what took about 3800 words. Oh yes, there were the usual curtsies in the direction of putting aboriginal communities to work, trotting out more all-day kindergarten and continuing the tutition grants for undergraduates, home care for the elderly, better access to mental health services and home renovation tax credits. The list was interminable and, in case anyone was left out, they promised they are going to create opportunities for everyone.
But what the silly speech failed to do was to provide leadership, to surprise, please, thrill, innovate, wow, challenge, build or propose a future for Ontario on which we could sign-on and work together for a better future for all.
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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry
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