Liberal government's throne speech passes in House of Commons without a vote
OTTAWA — The government's reply to the throne speech was adopted in the House of Commons Wednesday.
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It was adopted 'on division,' meaning no recorded vote was held. It does not need a vote in the Senate.
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Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Steven MacKinnon said on social media that the adoption of the speech sets the stage for a 'strong and focused agenda.'
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'We have a clear mandate to deliver on priorities for Canadians and build a strong Canada — and we're going to do just that,' MacKinnon said.
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Earlier Wednesday, interim NDP Leader Don Davies said New Democrat MPs would vote against the government's throne speech.
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After a caucus meeting, Davies said that 1.2 million Canadians sent New Democrats to Parliament to advocate for working families and those priorities aren't reflected in the speech.
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Davies said the speech offers few details about the government's plans for health care and housing.
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MacKinnon said the vote on the throne speech was a confidence matter, which means it was the first real test of Prime Minister Mark Carney's government.
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If the government loses a confidence vote, it's defeated — which can lead to a snap election.
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Davies said that while Canadians don't want an election right now, his party was taking a 'principled approach.'
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'It's a clear message that this throne speech is not a worker-centric throne speech,' he said. 'We can't support a throne speech that so badly misses the mark in terms of the economic and social policies that people need in this country.'
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MacKinnon said before the Liberal caucus meeting on Wednesday that the caucus was confident the throne speech would pass.
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He would not say if his party had secured the support of other parties, referring questions directly to those parties.
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He said that while the Liberals have a minority government, they also have a mandate to deliver for Canadians.
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The Conservatives did not say how the party would vote.
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In the House of Commons Wednesday, during a debate on the reply to the throne speech, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said she would vote in favour of the speech.
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May said she agreed with the major theme of the speech — building a stronger Canada — but said it lacked details and only mentioned climate change in 'passing references.'
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The Liberals lost a vote Monday evening when opposition members successfully amended the reply to the throne speech to call on the government to table an economic update before Parliament breaks for the summer. That vote was not a matter of confidence.
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