Last week Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced his intentions to ask the governor general to prorogue parliament this fall.
According to Westlock-St. Paul MP Brian Storseth, proroguing parliament is fairly routine and offers the government a “kind of reset.” The last session of parliament, he says, was pretty long and a lot of “key issues” were addressed.
Issues that were addressed since the last throne speech include items such as the long gun registry being repealed, the ending of the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly, along with a number of economic items.
Storseth adds that Harper had alluded to the proroguing of parliament last year, saying there would be another throne speech.
As for new priorities that will be included in the upcoming throne speech, Storseth says that right now MPs are spending the summer talking to Canadians. MPs will then submit ideas to the prime minister's office.
“I can assure you that there will be jobs growth and long-term prosperity” addressed in the throne speech, says Storseth. Economic development will continue to be a priority moving forward, along with focusing on trade and trying to ensure some of the proposed pipelines are built in Canada.
“People are still very much concerned about the economy,” says Storseth. But, he added, people are also optimistic in this area, with a good growing season and good crops being seen so far.
Ensuring there is enough labour in Alberta is also something Storseth says Canadians feel is important to keep moving the economy forward.
With the proroguing of parliament MPs will most likely not sit until sometime in October, rather than mid-September. Storseth says that sitting for fewer days this fall doesn't necessarily mean the government will sit for fewer days overall.
The proroguing of parliament does have an affect on certain bills that haven't received royal assent, as some can be set back to zero.
“They're all affected differently,” says Storseth, adding, the government sat extended hours during the last session to pass legislation.
Looking to the next session, Storseth says his priorities will be pushing for a response to the Cold Lake Oil Sands Area CRISP report, and also helping with provincial issues such as improving the conditions of Highway 28 and bringing money into the province to address rural health care issues.
