Opposition Conservative leader Rona Ambrose said the speech was heavy on the public sector and light on the private sector.
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Mr Johnston said in the speech Canada will have a better future by being “smart and caring on a scale as never before”.
“Parliament shall be no exception”.
“Canadians have been clear and unambiguous in their desire for real change”, Johnston read from the speech, as Trudeau sat beside him. The speech made specific mention of a promise to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by February 2016.
Day anticipates more details will be available following Johnston’s address.
The speech said the government would create a new “nation-to-nation relationship” with indigenous peoples.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has confirmed he will address a special chiefs meeting next Tuesday hosted by the Assembly of First Nations in Ottawa – a gathering that falls a week ahead of the final report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission probing Canada’s dark residential school legacy.
The speech cited an “immediate priority” to cut taxes for middle-income earners and deliver on pledges to “provide more direct help to those who need it by giving less to those who do not”, in part through expanded child benefit payments.
It also promised significant new investment in infrastructure to boost the stagnant economy. They say it appears the Liberals are giving up on a commitment to cap budget deficits at $10 billion dollars annually over the next 3 years.
“What we’ve seen in the Speech from the Throne is nothing less than big government and big spending, which we know will result in higher taxes for Canadians”, she told reporters.
On the environment, it promised to continue working with the provinces to put a price on carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It did not specifically repeat Trudeau’s campaign promise to meet the premiers to hash out a national climate change strategy within 90 days of the United Nations climate conference underway now in Paris.
New Democratic Party leader Thomas Mulcair praised several elements but said some pledges were missing, for example, the promise to restore door-to-door postal delivery.
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Trudeau’s government laid out its plans in an event known as the Speech from the Throne, which largely repeated the government’s campaign promises. However, for the first time, the government said it will restrict access to marijuana but did not elaborate.
