Parliament Hill — MP Guy Lauzon writes: There have been 146 Throne Speeches delivered since Confederation. I believe the recent one presented by the Governor General on October 16 was one of the most important in Canada’s history. Our country is at a crossroads. Our Government had the choice of either continuing on the path of balancing our budget, creating jobs, growing our economy, making Canada safer, or,  giving in to the opposition demands for more spending, legalizing marijuana, introducing a carbon tax and bigger government. I believe we made the right decision with the 2013 Speech from the Throne.

There are so many great new initiatives in this Speech from the Throne I don’t know where to begin. This Throne Speech outlines what we will focus on over the next two years; creating jobs and opportunities for Canadians, supporting and protecting Canadian families, and putting Canada First. We will accomplish these goals by implementing the priorities listed below and many more that can be found at this website: http://speech.gc.ca/.

Firstly, we are committed to balancing the budget by 2015 and will introduce legislation that will require balanced budgets during normal economic times. We will also continue to reduce the size and cost of Government to ensure taxpayers get value for money.

Our Government will remain focused on ensuring Canadians have access to good, well-paying and stable jobs. We will do this by implementing the Canada Jobs Grant which will increase employment by ensuring Canadians are able to fill job vacancies. In response to low youth employment rates, we will redirect federal investments in youth employment to provide real-life work experience in high demand fields.

We will also work with the provinces and territories to enable free movement of skilled workers and assist apprentices with the cost of their training.

The Speech from the Throne announced that we will soon complete negotiations to finalize a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union creating an additional 80,000 jobs. We will also continue to develop new markets around the world for Canadian products, while supporting supply management.

Further, our Government will invest $70 billion over the next 10 years in federal, provincial and community

Canadians are able to fill job vacancies. In response to low youth employment rates, we will redirect federal investments in youth employment to provide real-life work experience in high demand fields.

We will also work with the provinces and territories to enable free movement of skilled workers and assist apprentices with the cost of their training.

The Speech from the Throne announced that we will soon complete negotiations to finalize a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union creating an additional 80,000 jobs. We will also continue to develop new markets around the world for Canadian products, while supporting supply management.

Further, our Government will invest $70 billion over the next 10 years in federal, provincial and community

Guy Lauzon,

Member of Parliament, Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry