MP's Rosemarie Falk and Gary Vidal both expressed their disappointment in the Throne Speech and the Prime Minister's remarks on Wednesday. (File Photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

Conservative Disappointment

Conservative MP’s Falk, Vidal criticize Trudeau’s remarks

Sep 24, 2020 | 6:09 PM

The reaction of the Conservative Party of Canada to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s remarks and the throne speech that preceded them was uniformly negative across the country. In northwest Saskatchewan, that was certainly the case.

Gary Vidal, MP for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River felt the evening was built up to be something particularly significant for Canadians, and ultimately wasn’t. He said it’s frustrating to see the prime minister playing politics in the middle of a pandemic.

“What was the reason for prorogation, if not to reset the agenda?” Vidal said. “Basically, it was for political purposes to shut down the committee work that was being done.”

One of the things Vidal said is most troubling is that one of the first things the government brought forward during the pandemic was legislation that would give themselves unfettered power through to December 21. While that was ultimately modified, he said it shows where the Liberal government is focused.

“We see the pattern of behaviour repeating itself and that’s frustrating,” Vidal said.

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A general critic of Wednesday evening’s remarks is that the agenda laid forward didn’t seem to acknowledge the concerns of the prairies. Vidal said the prime minister’s remarks ultimately come across as divisive.

“There’s nothing in this throne speech for the resource sector, there’s nothing in this throne speech for agriculture, there’s nothing in this throne speech for things that premiers have called for,” Vidal said. “Such as health transfers for them to deal with issues in their own province.”

“We have to look after the best interests of all Canadians, not just certain segments, groups and regions.”

MP Rosemarie Falk for the Battlefords—Lloydminster had similar thoughts on the speech and remarks afterwards, saying the latter felt like a summary of the speech and a waste of time. She also felt there was a significant absence of any emphasis on the western provinces.

“He talks about national unity, but there wasn’t much in that speech that was unifying,” Falk said.

Another complaint of Falk’s was that the general content of everything didn’t address enough immediate concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said it was basically a 2019 speech hashed into a throne speech, which covered issues that are pre-COVID.

“What is the government going to change post-COVID?” she said. “There’s things that need to be addressed and I didn’t hear that in the throne speech or in [Trudeau’s] comments in the evening.”

As shadow minister for seniors, Falk said she was also disappointed at the lack of support for seniors in the throne speech. Given the lack of quality internet in remote communities, the pandemic has highlighted a greater need for connectivity.

“It just shows how important it is to have the availability to connect virtually,” she said. “Even on that aspect in the speech, I would have expected more.”

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josh.ryan@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports