Quick Quotes: Party leaders reach to 2021 speech from the throne

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This article was published 23/11/2021 (1456 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA – Here are some key quotes from Tuesday’s speech from the throne, as well as party leaders’ reactions.

Speech from the throne, as delivered by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon

“Reconciliation is not a single act, nor does it have an end date. It is a lifelong journey of healing, respect and understanding. We need to embrace the diversity of Canada and demonstrate respect and understanding for all peoples every day.”

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“Our Earth is in danger. From a warming Arctic to the increasing devastation of natural disasters, our land and our people need help. We must move talk into action and adapt where we must. We cannot afford to wait.”

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“Yes, the decade got off to an incredibly difficult start, but this is the time to rebuild. This is the moment for parliamentarians to work together to get big things done, and shape a better future for our kids.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

“The government of Canada will continue to invest in our workers and industry to help bring us into the economy of the future, while also taking action to clean the air that we breathe and protect Canadians from extreme weather events. Together, we need to go further and move faster on climate action, not just to protect our environment, but to grow our economy in a way that leaves no worker behind.”

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Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole

“We will be the voice for the millions of Canadians being left behind in Justin Trudeau’s economy. Today we heard more of the same from the Trudeau government. What we didn’t hear was a plan for the economy, a plan to tackle the cost of living crisis.”

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“We will be tenacious in our efforts to hold this government to account, and to demand transparency and we will propose real solutions to get Canada moving again. We will strive to place the interests of the country and its unity at the forefront of everything we do.”

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet

“We will live with this empty piece of paper, gently read in three languages.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh

“We see a throne speech that does not respond to the urgency of the crises that we’re up against. We’ve got a housing crisis: no real action to actually improve or tackle the housing crisis. We see a lot of, right now, immediate impacts of a climate crisis. But this throne speech doesn’t respond to some of the most important easy first steps: ending fossil fuel subsidies.”

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“It looks like the government has run out of steam, and is not responding to the urgency and the problems that people are going through right now. And we are going to continue to fight for what people want, which is concrete steps to tackle the climate crisis and also a clear plan for workers. Right now workers are worried about what their futures hold and we want a real plan for workers.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2021.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.