Flaherty’s Throne Speech Preview

Canadian Press reports that tomorrow’s throne speech will include more tax cuts and some effort to eliminate supposed inter-provincial barriers.  Since the Liberals agree with the Conservatives on both issues, they should not have much trouble letting the throne speech pass.

More tax cuts, fewer trade barriers to come in throne speech: Finance Minister

TORONTO – Canadians can expect to see more tax cuts and fewer internal trade barriers after Tuesday’s highly anticipated throne speech, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Monday after an event in Toronto.

Flaherty said taxes are still too high, and the federal government is committed to lowering them further.

“We’ve already committed to reducing personal income taxes and reducing corporate taxes more,” he said after announcing $15 million in federal funding for a centre of excellence at St. Michael’s hospital in Toronto.

“Canadians pay too much tax. You can expect to see more of that in the future.”

Ottawa also wants to knock down trade barriers within Canada so provinces can trade more freely with each other, he added.

“There are more obstacles to free trade within Canada than there are in the (European) Union,” Flaherty said. “We have to work on that. We have to do better for the sake of opportunities for all Canadians, all across Canada.”

The minority Conservative government will lay out a throne speech which many say could spark a snap election if it’s voted down by the opposition.

Although the provincial Conservatives were resoundingly defeated in last week’s Ontario election, Flaherty said that’s not reflective of the support for the federal party in Canada’s most populous province.

The issues in the Ontario election were different and people are happy with the strength of the Canadian economy, he said.

“We look at the strength of the Canadian economy, we look at the strong employment situation in Ontario. People look to the federal government to make the economic federation in Canada work,” Flaherty said.

“The issues are different when we get to federal politics.”

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory may step down after he failed to win a seat in the election. But Flaherty, who once ran for the job, said he’s not interested in vying for the leadership again.