Tories tighten belts, freeze salaries

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Sean Kilpatrick / the canadian press Prime Minister Stephen Harper follows Gov. Gen. Micha��lle Jean after the throne speech. (CP)

The wage freeze was one of a handful of belt-tightening measures unveiled in Wednesday's 6,000-word throne speech, which came at the end of a controversial two-month shut down of Parliament so the government could "recalibrate its agenda."

Manitoba junior cabinet minister Steven Fletcher said the economy remains the focus. But unlike last year when that was the only concern, Fletcher said there is now room to reach out in other areas to include Arctic sovereignty, Senate reform and First Nations.

"Last year everything was focused on the economy and the Economic Action Plan," said Fletcher.

"We now have an opportunity to have caught our breath. There is an opportunity now to focus on a broader array of issues."

Instead of major new spending initiatives, the speech pledged a smattering of smaller -- and cheaper -- items such as cutting environmental red tape, building a national Holocaust memorial and establishing a Seniors Day.

There will be a new biometric passport, funding to address the issue of slain and missing aboriginal women and legislation to protect drinking water on reserves.

Opposition critics said the speech was mainly a rehashing of previous Conservative promises with little evidence any recalibrating took place.

"The overall sense is it's a long speech to make up for proroguing," Winnipeg NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis said. "It doesn't cut it."

Many of the promises involve reintroducing legislation the government killed when Prime Minister Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament in December.

Wasylycia-Leis said she was disappointed to see a reference to ending the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly on barley sales, something the government promised four years ago but hasn't been able to do yet.

"The whole throne speech is full of pet issues they keep trying to advance," she said.

Liberal MP Anita Neville said the speech was "like a sprinkling of fairy dusty" for a number of special interest groups.

She said a Seniors Day might be nice but is meaningless to seniors struggling on pensions. "To my mind a seniors day is a wonderful opportunity for Hallmark," Neville said.

The speech said balancing the budget won't come "at the expense of pensioners," by cutting health and education transfers to the provinces or by raising taxes.

Instead, it said the first step will be to wind down the economic stimulus program. The second will be restraining federal spending, including freezing wages for MPs, cabinet ministers and senators and freezing the overall budgets for ministers' offices and departmental operating budgets.

"There is definitely a tone there we have to ensure government spending is reduced," Fletcher said.

Further details of the government's deficit-slaying solution are expected today in the federal budget.

One of the more intriguing references in the speech was a plan to have a parliamentary committee look at the gender-neutral original lyrics of O Canada.

Harper also used the speech to reach out to First Nations, with a surprise pledge to endorse the United Nations declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.

In 2007, Canada was one of just four nations that rejected the declaration, a document which is more symbolic than legally binding in nature.

It sets out international standards for the treatment of indigenous peoples worldwide including protection of culture, language and identity, and rights to access of employment, health and education.

Canada cited concerns about discrepancies in the language of the declaration and Canada's Constitution. While Canada still has concerns about the language, it said it has heard from aboriginal Canadians about the importance of the declaration to them and will therefore give qualified support to it.

Wasylycia-Leis said the reference to the UN declaration was a "good sign."

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo said he wants to see whether endorsing the declaration will result in real action for aboriginal people.

"The underlying principle here is to work with us to implement the principles of the declaration," he said.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 4, 2010 A4