Throne speech won't get Canadians back to work, Conservative MP charges

There is nothing in Wednesday's throne speech that will solve some of the fundamental problems with the federal government's support for workers during the pandemic, says Conservative MP Rob Moore.

Moore, the MP for Fundy Royal in New Brunswick and the Atlantic Canada representative in the Conservative caucus, said the speech was largely a rehash of things the Liberal government was already talking about.

"What in this speech from the throne speaks to the need to get people back to work and get our economy going again? Once again, very little mention for Atlantic Canada," Moore told Island Morning host Mitch Cormier.

Moore took particular issue with CERB and the program being proposed to replace it.

"In these programs, both CERB and the transition to an enhanced EI, there's the built-in disincentive for people to take available work," he said.

"I'm hearing that from constituents and small businesses. They say, look, I want to go back to work or I need to fill vacancies for employees and I can't do that because of the government's system."

Avoiding WE scandal

Moore said proroguing Parliament for a new throne speech was unnecessary.

"The anticipation, many felt, was, OK, there's going to be something in here that helps us get through this next year," he said.

"In fact, what we see is proroguing Parliament was just about ending the multiple investigations … into the WE scandal. By proroguing Parliament all of those House of Commons committees had to stop their work."

Conservatives have a plan to support Canadians while encouraging them to return to the workforce, Moore said, but the government didn't choose to follow up on any of those suggestions.

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