OTTAWA — A brand-new Canada — greener, healthier, more compassionate, fairer.
That was the vision that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau outlined on Wednesday when he revealed his much-anticipated legislative plan to a country grappling with rising coronavirus cases, fears of a second wave of the pandemic, and continuing economic woes because of shutdowns to fight the virus.
His plan, presented in the so-called throne speech to Parliament, included sweeping promises of new social programs to help working women and families; beefed-up financial support programs for businesses and workers hit by the economic downturn; and measures to combat climate change while leading the country to recovery.
“This is not the time for austerity,” the speech declared.
Mr. Trudeau’s proposals, though, were short on details. Much of the package was a reworking of earlier promises from his Liberal Party, but with measures tailored to fight the coronavirus and the economic woes it has brought the country. The plan was immediately criticized by his main political rivals in the Conservative Party, who said it lacked fiscal restraint. “They’re still talking that budgets balance themselves,” Candice Bergen, the deputy Conservative leader, told reporters. “It is another speech that is full of Liberal buzzwords and grand gestures.”Kathy Brock, a professor in the policy studies department at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, said the speech was so stuffed with promises, it may be difficult for the government to deliver. “It was a speech of promises as opposed to a speech that leads to action,” she said. “It looks to me like it’s preparing the way for an election.”