View From the Legislature

Throne Speech Begins Fall Session

  • Kelvin Goertzen, Author
  • Member of the Legislative Assembly, Steinbach

It is tradition in many Canadian legislatures as well as the federal Parliament to begin a new fall sitting with a speech from the throne. This tradition is tied to our historical status as a Commonwealth nation and is marked with the reading of a speech by the representative of the monarchy (in Manitoba this is usually performed by the Lieutenant Governor). The speech sets out the priorities of the government for the coming year.

At most times, the speech from the throne is surrounded by a great deal of ceremony and tradition. Of course, these are not exactly normal times. And so, when it was announced last week that a new session of the Manitoba Legislature would begin this week with a speech from a throne, it was also understood that some things would be different.

For one, like essentially every legislature in Canada, there will be a greater reliance on virtual participation. This is important both to ensure public health protocols are followed but also to ensure that if members are away ill or if they are required to isolate for some reason due to COVID19, that they are still able to participate.

Despite the many changes, some things will remain the same. Key among them is that the speech from the throne and the fall session are vitally important to Manitobans, perhaps more so than at any time in recent memory. The need to ensure that the economy is restarted while maintaining safety for Manitobans will be a key focus as the global pandemic continues. While Manitoba is coming off a balanced budget and has faired comparatively well in many categories compared to other provinces, there are many individuals and businesses that have been negatively impacted both from a health and an economic perspective.

This legislative session work will continue to both provide support but also to provide the means for economic recovery and for job recovery. A key focus for the Manitoba government has been to keep people at work and to ensure that they are able to stay connected to their employment. In addition, there has been tremendous work by Manitoba Health to try to ensure the needs related to COVID19 are met in terms of testing and results while also ensuring that the ongoing needs of the healthcare system are addressed. These are key issues to be considered during this session.

In addition, the annual provincial budget needs to complete its regular process of debate and passage in the Manitoba Legislature. While the opposition NDP stalled much of the work of the legislature in the spring before the break, we hope to be able to see legislation and budgetary matters get dealt with in a democratic and respectable manner as all Manitobans would expect.

While things may look and seem a bit different at the Manitoba Legislature, as they do in many places, the important work of protecting Manitobans and safely restarting the economy continues to be a key focus during this fall session of the legislature.