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Click here for a minute-by-minute schedule of the ceremonies on Parliament Hill leading up to the Speech from the Throne
 
Wednesday’s Speech from the Throne focused mostly on the Canadian economy, with plans to complete stimulus funding by March 2011 and begin the process of taming the deficit. The address also highlighted the government’s general agenda for the upcoming session of Parliament. Here are some highlights:

• Salary freeze for the prime minister, cabinet ministers, MPs, and Senators, plus budget freezes for ministers’ offices
• A freeze of operating budgets for federal departments. This encompasses salaries, administration, and overhead
• An “aggressive” review of overall department spending
• Launch of a digital economy strategy  and toughened intellectual property and copyright laws
• More foreign investment opportunities in Canada’s satellite and telecommunications sectors
• Plans to “untangle the daunting maze” regulations in the energy and resource extraction sectors
• A national Seniors Day and a prime minister’s award for volunteerism
• More priority towards the large number of murdered and missing aboriginal women
• More investigative powers for police
• Access to special EI benefits for families of murder victims
• Reform of Canada’s fisheries management system
• The right to unpaid leave from federally regulated industries for crime victims or their families
• A new biometric passport and national cyber-security strategy
• Federal support for a National Monument to the Victims of Communism
• Participation at April’s Nuclear Security Summit in Washington and support for U.S. President Barack Obama’s anti-proliferation efforts

IN ALL THY SON’s COMMAND?
In a surprising announcement, the government also wants Parliament to reconsider the English lyrics to O Canada that describe “true patriot love in all thy son’s command.” The original 1908 lyrics were based on work by R. Stanley Weir and had a gender-neutral tone: “True patriot love thou dost in us command.” The change was made six years later. Liberal Senator Vivienne Poy introduced a bill in 2002 that would revert the official lyrics back to the original 1908 version.

Parliament begins each session with a day of stately pageantry that includes a speech by the Governor General (or the monarch if they are in Canada) setting out the government’s agenda and priorities – and summoning parliamentarians back to work.

In 1984 the Montreal Gazette said the event might have “mystified Canadians watching on television." In fact, these traditions trace their lineage back to 16^th-century England. The Usher of the Black Rod and Speaker of the House lead MPs to the Senate chamber for the speech, since senators and the Governor General are not allowed inside the House of Commons. The Governor General, meanwhile, leads a ceremonial procession from Rideau Hall to Parliament Hill.

• The government writes the speech, which MPs debate for up to six days after returning to the Commons. The process begins with a motion by two government backbenchers to consider an Address in Reply: a short statement of thanks to the Governor General for providing the speech. Debate begins with “Leaders’ Day” and a speech by the leader of the opposition. By tradition the prime minister speaks next, followed by the other party leaders.


• The royal representative almost always reads the Speech from the Throne. Sometimes the monarch performs the duty themselves. King George VI read the 1939 speech during a pre-war royal visit to Canada. Queen Elizabeth II did the same in 1957 and 1977. Whether a king, queen, or governor general delivers the speech, its text is entered onto parchment and presented to the Crown by the Speaker of the House.


• The Speech from the Throne is almost always delivered mid-afternoon. But the October 2007 address was held at 6:35pm ET. Amidst heightened election speculation, critics accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives of reducing the opposition’s ability to respond before that night’s newscasts and newspaper deadlines.
  
  One tradition remains peculiar to the Palace of Westminster in London, though. The cellars there are searched before every opening of Parliament in a ceremonial nod to the foiled 1605 Gunpowder Plot that would have blown up the House Lords and killed King James I as the beginning of a Catholic revolt in England.

Sources: Government of Canada, House of Commons Procedure and Practice (O’Brien and Bosc), Canadian Government and Politics (Hugh McDowall Clokie), UK Parliament


Speech from the Throne - January 26, 2009

Speech from the Throne - November 19, 2008

Speech from the Throne - October 16, 2007

House of Commons Procedure and Practice: Opening a Session of Parliament

Read Speeches from the Throne since 1867

State Opening of the UK Parliament