The throne speech - it was an odd one

Throne speech number seven for the Doer government was delivered today. It was an odd speech. It began with glowing comments on the dyke around the southern parts of Lake Winnipeg. It was an odd choice to start with since there has been a lot of controversy over whether this $8 million expenditure was appropriate or necessary (see my blog Sept 27). It was odd to have the important issue of safety in our streets and communities buried in the middle of a relatively unimpressive throne speech.

It was odd that there was no mention of any follow through on the government's own 20/20 vision report which provided recommendations on dealing with the major and continuing problems with roads and highways around Manitoba. This report, which was several years in the making, seems to have been relegated to the dustbin.

It was odd to not have any mention of the Lowlands National Park, the World Heritage Site or any plans to contain the major toxic waste which continues to leak into Kississing Lake.

Oddest of all was the government's decision to hold a major press conference on hydro power the day of the throne speech. Was the throne speech so bad that it needed such an announcement to cover up its deficiencies? Normally a government is so proud of its throne speech that it would never think of doing a major announcement on the same day, because it might take away from the throne speech itself.

Oh, and for those from Fort Whyte constituency, there was no mention of Victoria Hospital, the linear park or a new high school.