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The Making ofthe Speech From

the ThroneGeo Norquay

The Speech rom the Throne is a critical element o the Brit-ish parliamentary tradition; it contains the agenda o the

government or a new session o Parliament the priorities,the issues and the directions in other words, the narrativeo governing. At the beginning o a newly-elected govern-

ment, it outlines a set o departures rom the previous gov-ernments agenda. In the middle o a mandate, it can alsorejuvenate a tired or agging agenda, and help put a newace on the old crowd. And, overall, an SFT galvanizes thebureaucracy more than any other event. Except o course,or an actual change in government.

The Government o CanadaChallenger soared over north-western Ontario. There were

only two passengers, Brian Mulroneyand me. It was the all o 1986 andthe prime minister was on his way to

Saskatchewan to meet with PremierGrant Devine to discuss some dicultagricultural issues. I was on the fightas one o the PMs policy sta but oranother purpose as well. There was anew session o Parliament about toopen, and the PM had asked me tobring the nal drat Speech rom theThrone (SFT) with me. It was time orthe last snake check and the nalsign-o beore the speech went o tothe printer, and we would do that onthe fight west.

I knew the SFT process well. I hadbeen the principal writer or the rstMulroney government throne speechin 1984 and knew it was complex,with as many as 40-50 successivedrats and numerous hands on thepen along the way. Inspired by theplatorm that had elected us in 1984,the overall political narrative and thebasic ramework originated with thePrime Ministers Oce (PMO), butater that, there were scores o one-on-one consultations and negotia-

Prime Minister Harper and Governor General David Johnston in conversation beore the 2011 Speech rom the Throne. No event engages the government like athrone speech. PMO photo

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Policy

tions with ministers and their policysta to nd the right content andnuance as the speech developed. Suc-cessive drats bounced back and orthbetween PMO and the various groupsin the Privy Council Oce (PCO) andthe Federal-Provincial Relations O-ce or their expert advice, and everyew days, the latest drat would go

up to the PM or his input and direc-tion. Mulroney is a gited writer, andhe took this seriously; he constantlychallenged us to say it more elegantly,more completely, more accurately. Heworried over every word.

The drating process or the 1986 SFTwas no dierent, except that my col-league L. Ian MacDonald, rom thePMO communications group hadthe pen, and so ar, I had not reallybeen that intimately involved. Sohere I was with the PM in the Chal-lenger, reading the speech or the -

nal time, page by page, paragraph byparagraph, word by word, checkingfow, phrasing, meaning and tone. Ata certain point, I began to get the un-easy eeling that perhaps I had missedsomething, so I went back a ew pagesto revisit the earlier text.

In the months leading up to the all o1986, we had promised to provide newdirections to regional developmentin Canada, and had decided to createnew economic development agenciesor both Atlantic and Western Can-

ada. Through successive drats o thespeech, I had seen that various olksthroughout the system had tried theirhand at naming the new agencies andthat the names kept changing witheach new drat. I hadnt really paid itthat much attention until the uneasi-ness struck that day on the plane.

I ound the paragraph, and here iswhat it said:

As a rst step in achievingimproved results rom this sus-tained national approach, an

Atlantic Canada DevelopmentCorporation will be constitutedto acilitate and coordinate allederal development initiativesin the area.

Staring at the words, it nally struckme. We were about to announce anew agency and the obvious acronymby which it would instantly be knownwas AC-DC. This carried certainsexual undertones that would haveinstantly made us the laughingstocko the western world. I underlined the

our letters and passed the page acrossto the PM. A huge laugh resulted.

I never did nd out who it was thatgot to name the new agency, but Ido know that that is how the Atlan-tic Canada Opportunities Agency ACOA was born.

Throne speeches are a criticalelement o the British parlia-mentary tradition; they con-

tain the agenda o the government ora new session o Parliament the pri-orities, the issues and the directions in other words, the narrative o gov-

erning. SFTs can serve other purposesas well. At the beginning o a newly-elected government, they signal anew beginning and a set o departuresrom the previous governments agen-da. In the middle o a mandate, theycan also serve to rejuvenate a tired orfagging agenda, and help put a newace on the old crowd.

One o the key impacts o a thronespeech is the mobilization o thevarious departments o government.When the message goes out rom PMO

to ministers and rom PCO to deputyministers that an SFT is in the works,the ideas fow in to the centre. Theymay be specic or general, and legisla-tive, programmatic or policy oriented.They may adjust or ne-tune old pro-grams or propose new ones.

There is oten a air amount o compe-tition or the attention o the PM andcabinet. Every department wants tohave its piece o the new action thatis represented by a throne speech. Inaddition, to the extent that they setnew priorities, or raise lower onesto higher status, SFTs oten requirethe reallocation o scal and sta re-sources within departments to meetnew circumstances and pursue newobjectives. Overall, an SFT galvanizesthe bureaucracy more than any otherevent, except o course, or an actualchange in government.

SFTs nearly always contain an internalinconsistency, a battle between conti-nuity and departure, between same-ness and innovation. Since the key

challenges o public policy are broadlyknown, the trick is always to nd the

right balance between the major ob-jectives the government has alreadybeen pursuing and the new direc-tions it wishes to take. In positioningnew directions as logical outcomes owell-worn paths, governments tendto step on their own message. As aresult, throne speeches are usuallyproclaimed to be a disappointment bythe media: Nothing much new here;no surprises; no grand vision or theuture; no radical departures; businessas usual.

As a government at mid-term, the

Harper Conservatives have estab-lished some hallmarks through whichthey have become known: competenteconomic management, trade expan-sion, a more independent and ro-bust oreign policy, re-equipping thearmed orces, and many tough oncrime initiatives. At the same time,however, many o the priorities out-lined in their rst majority govern-ment SFT have already been achieved,or are in the hands o others; theCanada-Europe Comprehensive Eco-nomic and Trade Agreement (CETA)

and the Keystone XL Pipeline are twoprominent examples. So what mightbe the content o a renewal narrative?What are the key issues we can expectthe throne speech to address?

Despite the political challengesaced by Stephen Harper inMay and June, summer polls

conrmed that he still retained a solidlead over his two opposition rivals inthe publics rating o capability oneconomic issues. Harper still stands at

Since the key challenges opublic policy are broadlyknown, the trick is alwaysto nd the right balancebetween the major objectivesthe government has alreadybeen pursuing and the newdirections it wishes to take.

Throne speeches are a critical element o the Britishparliamentary tradition; they contain the agenda o thegovernment or a new session o Parliament the priorities,the issues and the directions in other words, the narrativeo governing.

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40 per cent approval on the economy,while Liberal Leader Justin Trudeautrails at 21 per cent, with NDP LeaderTom Mulcair at 14 per cent.

We should thereore expect a thronespeech that is long on scal prudenceand economic management, because

the governments imperative remainsto return to budget balance by 2015.This is the key to satisying Harpersbase, many o whom elt queasy aboutthe decit-creating stimulus packageadopted to combat the nancial crisisand global recession o 2008-09. Bud-get balance is also essential to meetingsome important carry-over Conser-vative commitments rom the 2011election, such as income splitting upto $50,000 or amilies with childrenunder 18. The imperative o returningto budget balance also means that theSFT will not be throwing much newmoney around. Moreover, the gov-ernment aces an unknown but hetyprice tag or the costs o the southernAlberta foods and the railway disasterat Lac-Mgantic.

Steps to acilitate economic growthand job creation will be the next majoreconomically-oriented throne speechtheme. Trade will continue to havepride o place in the governmentseconomic agenda. I the governmenthas concluded the CETA negotiations

with Europe by September-October,the SFT will contain a commitment toimplement CETA, which will involvesignicant legislation. I the agree-ment has not yet been nalized, yetanother pledge will be made to bringthe negotiations to a successul con-clusion. Ater that, it is on to the ne-gotiations towards the Trans-PacicPartnership, and the continuation othe ongoing trade talks with India andJapan, among other bilaterals undernegotiations.

On the jobs ront, the July cabinetshufe signaled a continuation othe governments extensive eortsto remake the Canadian labour mar-

ket. In moving Jason Kenney romCitizenship and Immigration to thenewly-named Department o Employ-ment and Social Development, thePrime Minister eectively made Ken-ney Minister o Jobs. In additionto completing the controversial em-ployment insurance reorms begun byhis predecessor Diane Finley, Kenneynow inherits the all-important skillsle. He must make the new CanadaJob Grant program work with theprovinces, and continue eorts to en-courage the provinces to take down

proessional credentials barriers thatstife inter-provincial mobility andkeep skilled immigrants driving taxis.And nally, he will need to managechanges to the controversial Tempo-rary Foreign Workers Program, whichcaused the government some grieearlier this year.

On energy and pipelines, Harp-ers touting o Canadas u-ture as an energy superpow-

er has hit some heavy weather with

the delays on the approval o the Key-stone XL pipeline to the US Gul oMexico, and opposition to the Gate-way Pipeline across northern BritishColumbia. The primary objective is toget Canadian oil and gas to tidewa-ter in any direction rom westernCanada to the southern US, rom thewest to the east within Canada, and

rom Alberta through BC to the Pa-cic. The environmental review o theGateway pipeline is not due until theend o the year. Expect commitmentso ederal support to acilitate all othese major capital projects.

The throne speech will likely addressthe long-promised ederal green-house gas regulations or the oil andgas sector. I they are already out bythen, expect the ederal governmentto signal its desire to seek equivalencyagreements with provinces whereverpractical. Canadas GHG policies have

been in lock-step with the US or thelast ew years and, depending on newpolicies rom the Obama administra-tion, the government will likely con-tinue this approach, although anyUS linkage between Canadas GHGpolicies and approval o Keystone willprove tricky.

Whether we are talking about pipe-lines or mining development, one othe most challenging natural resource

issues to be resolved is revenue shar-ing, without which it is dicult to seehow resource development can meetthe promise o durable economic par-ticipation or First Nations commu-nities and jobs on reserves as well asin non-native remote and northerncommunities. The provinces and ter-ritories hold most o the cards, sinceresource revenues belong to them. Itwill be interesting to see i the thronespeech signals ederal eorts to re-solve this issue.

Kenney now inherits the all-important skills le. He mustmake the new Canada JobGrant program work with theprovinces, and continue eortsto encourage the provincesto take down proessionalcredentials barriers that stifeinter-provincial mobility andkeep skilled immigrantsdriving taxis.

The throne speech will likelyaddress the long-promisedederal greenhouse gasregulations or the oil and gas

sector. I they are already outby then, expect the ederalgovernment to signal itsdesire to seek equivalencyagreements with provinceswherever practical.

Governor General Johnston reading his frst throne speech. With his second one this all, written by thePrime Ministers Ofce, the Harper government hopes it can brreak out o its spring slump. PMO photo

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There are a variety o smolderingaboriginal les, including First Na-tions land tenure, the need or in-creased ederal unding or educationon reserves along with a governancestructure, and a way orward on com-prehensive claims and treaty imple-mentation. Expect most or all o theseto be addressed in the SFT, in one way

or another.And then theres deence procure-ment and aerospace.

This has proven to be a nine-alarmcatastrophe or the government, withcost over-runs, huge delays and toomany reset buttons to count. Inresponse to the David Emerson Aero-space Review and Tom Jenkins reportLeveraging Deence ProcurementThrough Key Industrial Capabilities,the government is likely to promisechanges to the organization, decision-

making and management o procure-ment in the space, aerospace and de-ence sectors. Anything proposed islikely to be welcomed as an improve-ment in this disaster zone.

provinces and territories over the nextten years.

The Prime Minister has sent a reer-ence to the Supreme Court on theuture o the Senate, concerning bothmethod o appointment and possibleabolition. Given that the SupremeCourt will not release its response un-

til the end o the year or early 2014,it is hard to guess what the SFT candenitively promise. The best wayorward to abolition would likely bethe calling o a reerendum, but thatis hard to do while the issue is stillbeore the court. Expect stirring com-mitments to solve the Senate conun-drum once and or all, but ew detailsin the throne speech.

Contributing Writer Geo Norquay is aprincipal o the Earnsclie Strategy Groupin Ottawa. He was social policy adviser

to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney andlater communications director or StephenHarper in the Ofce o the Leader o theOpposition.

geo@earnsclie.ca

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StephenHarper

Parliament:The New

Session

Arereshed Science and Tech-nology Strategy to continuedriving the innovation agen-

da is a strong likelihood in the SFT.The government considers innova-tion and the commercialization oresearch to be critical in increasingCanadian competitiveness and pro-ductivity. (The ormer minister o

state conducted quiet consultationsaimed at updating the current strat-egy in recent months.)

The throne speech will very likelypromise a signicant Elections Actreorm initiative that will address therobocalls asco as well as the manyother challenges acing ElectionsCanada, and attempt to restore thecredibility o the electoral process inCanada.

The SFT will ollow up on the 2013

ederal budgets commitment to im-plement the long-term inrastructureplan, which begins April 1, 2014 andwhich will involve some $56 billionin ederal spending and transers to

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