Canada Throne Speech Ordinary People
Once upon a time in Canada, when we were COVID-19 free, we voted for one party in the province we called home, and another party for our man or woman in the federal government in Ottawa.
Because we didn’t have this guillotine around our necks, we were free to be colour-coded politically. We voted Bloc Quebecois, Conservative, Green, Liberal, NDP and many more.
We also paid taxes. We’ve never liked it, but understand that the government needs it to take care of infrastructure, hospitals and other things we need as Canadians, as ordinary Canadians if I might add.
COVID-19 came unannounced and uninvited.
We lost our jobs because businesses went out of business, schools were under padlock, hospitals carried extra weight and seniors were under attack as the major carriers despite the fact that most of them don’t travel. The mental state of the nation, of ordinary Canadians seeped with fear.
The virus is so violent, we shelved that we wore different political stripes. We were, and are still scared that there might be no tomorrow. Yes, because the virus has claimed and continues to claim lives.
Because we were no longer free, we expected the government to do the right thing. Which is? Not to act like insurance companies and deduct money from our accounts monthly, then point out the small print, that gives them the right not to pay-out claims.
Ordinary Canadians know that the government rose to the occasion and made life tolerable through the Canada Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB) and Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). Ordinary Canadians knew that the government deposited money into their accounts to alleviate the suffering.
Hit the streets with a microphone. What kind of government gave you the money, red, blue or orange? Most Canadians don’t know. The government paid the CERB period. Politicians know, because it is a tennis match. They play men’s doubles against the Liberal Party’s minority government. That is why they saw the Throne Speech in a political context, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s speech.
Ordinary Canadians regard the speech as an admission that the government took their taxes for a rainy day, and COVID-19 is that day. Opposition parties worry about balancing books, but how is that possible during such times?
What ordinary Canadians know is that the government delivered and will continue to try and glue this cracked state of affairs, the virus caused.
The Speech had one big flaw though, borrowing from the U.S. the phrase ‘building back better’, the rallying cry of the Democratic Party as it tries to wrestle back power from Donald Trump’s hands.
It is an insult, because once upon a time when we were COVID-19 free, Canadians shouted from rooftops that ‘I’m not American’.Canadians also have the command of their languages and should not plagiarize U.S. messages.
Lastly. Caution. Political parties should understand that it’s important to sync their ambition with voters’ priorities. Politicians want to unseat Justin Trudeau. Ordinary Canadians just want to feel that someone is listening to their present and future problems.
By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.
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