2010: A Busy, International Year for Canada
As Canadians face the New Year with optimism, our Conservative Government is preparing for what is going to be a very busy year. The world will be watching closely as Canada leads on the world stage hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as the G-8, the G-20 and the North American Leaders’ Summit.
Canada will be hosting the leaders of the world’s most industrialized countries for discussions on a broad range of issues. We will have the unique opportunity to exercise our leadership on the world stage, while promoting Canadian values such as human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
And not only will we be leading on the world stage, following the Olympic Games we will be launching the next phase of our Economic Action Plan with a Throne Speech on March 3 and a Budget on March 4.
There has been a lot of media attention surrounding the call for a new Throne Speech to launch the 3rd Session of the current Parliament. Despite what the critics say, this is a routine procedure. In fact, this is the 105th time in Canada’s history that a new Throne Speech will launch a new session of an existing Parliament.
The average Parliament comprises of three or four sessions (and three or four Throne Speeches); some Parliaments have heard as many as six or seven Throne Speeches. So as you can see, there is not out of the ordinary in the timing of our next Throne Speech.
Our priority in the new session of Parliament will continue to help Canadians as our economy emerges from this global economic downturn. Almost a year ago – in the face of the deepest worldwide recession since the Second World War – our Government responded to extraordinary times with extraordinary action. Our Economic Action Plan was one of the most comprehensive stimulus packages in the industrialized world.
We’re going to continue implementing our plan; stimulating new job growth, protecting existing jobs and ensuring that our economy emerges from the recession in a stronger position than it entered it. All the while, we’ll be showcasing Canada and Canadians on the world stage.
We’re in for a busy year!
