Canada: Throne Speech Focus is on Crime, Taxes, Afghanistan

The Governor General has read Canada's Speech from the Throne, the focus is on crime, taxes and Afghanistan, Kyoto is dead, but the government will produce a plan to reduce emissions.

The Canadian Press leaked portions of the throne speech approximately two hours before Canada’s Governor General Michaelle began to read it. Prominent in the speech are major tax cuts, new crime legislation and the extension of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan to 2011. The GST will be cut by a further one percent. This fulfills a Conservative campaign promise to cut the GST by 2 percent by 2010 . The first cut took place in June 2006. The Afghanistan strategy is tied to the training of Afghan security forces, including the army and police. The new tackling Violent Crime bill will include measures on impaired driving, age of sexual consent, stricter bail conditions and mandatory prison terms for gun crimes. The government also plans to make the Youth Criminal Justice Act tougher. The government is declaring the Kyoto Protocol and its emissions targets dead but will set out plans for reducing greenhouse gases. Now that the fall session of Parliament has begun, the parties are lining up on how they will respond to the Speech. If less than 50 per cent of the members of Parliament vote to accept the Speech, the Harper government will fall and a new election must be called.