Canadians should be concerned after hearing the government's "Speech from the Throne", which outlines the plans for the 37^th session of Parliament. While the basic message may sound optimistic, the lack of constructive proposals to solve some of the serious problems in Canada should cause us all concern. We needed to be given the hope that there would be some change.

A good example of the vagueness in this speech came in the section A Clean Environment: "…It will also invest in research and development and advance information systems to enable better land use and protect surface and ground water supplies from the impact of industrial and agricultural operations".

My concern with this statement is that landowners and farmers could be negatively impacted by the government's environmental agenda. This type of statement raises a number of questions, such as: will certain types of farming practices be restricted to meet the federal government's environmental plans? Or, will taxes on certain inputs such as fertilizer or chemicals be increased to force producers to use fewer amounts of these inputs? Farmers and landowners should keep a close tab on any environmental initiative from this government which could impact their operation.

Not only did the Speech from the Throne lack detail, it neglected to deal with a number of serious issues facing the country. A commitment to pursuing the on-going problems in the agricultural sector was nowhere to be found. The only mention of agriculture in the speech was: "The government will help Canada's agricultural sector move beyond crisis management - leading to more genuine diversification and value -added growth, new investments and employment, better land use, and high standards of environment stewardship and food safety."

This statement indicates the government has no intention to develop an agriculture policy that works. Instead of a commitment to assist farmers in the current crisis, the Liberal government wants to look beyond "crisis management." Don't you have to address the pressing issues first? We recognize the need for long-range plans, but there must be enough farmers left to benefit from any new initiatives.

The Throne Speech also made no reference to the problem of Western alienation. By not recognizing the existence of a problem and not talking about addressing concerns, the government continues to add fuel to the fire. It is incredible that a speech, which is supposed to set the direction for the entire country, makes no mention of the problems in Western Canada. No wonder people across my riding and around the province feel shut out from the political process in Ottawa!

We are entering a time of economic uncertainty which should signal to the government that everything possible should be done to make sure people and businesses get through these uncertain times. Unfortunately, the Speech from the Throne offers no direction to help our economy keep pace with our biggest trading partners. In fact, the Liberal government does not plan to introduce a budget this February to fulfill the promises they made in the election campaign. This could leave the country at risk of falling into a recession. This is irresponsible on the part of the government, to say the least.

Some other key points in the Speech from the Throne include:

• No additional funding for healthcare and no plans to address the problems in healthcare, like physician shortages and waiting lists.
• After ignoring organized crime for years, there is a promise of "aggressive steps" and "stronger anti-gang laws". The government promised to fix the young offenders act seven years ago and still hasn't. They've also wasted hundreds of millions of dollars on registering guns and hunters rather than enforcing the present laws that would deter real crime.
• The Speech repeatedly mentions the plight of Aboriginal people in areas such as diabetes, fetal alcohol syndrome and the high number of First Nations People in conflict with the law. What the speech does not do is get to the root of the problems that exacerbate these conditions.

In the past, this government has plodded along, without any real direction, only dealing with issues as they arise. The Speech from the Throne was an opportunity for this government to set a strong agenda and create a solid path for Canadians. Unfortunately, there weren't any new solutions to deal with some serious problems facing Canada.

Garry Breitkreuz, MP

Yorkton - Melville