As with most throne speeches, especially those preceding elections, this one was meant to make us feel good - and also to reinforce the popular myth that Paul Martin is still his father’s son. He talked in several places about the need for a strong social foundation for Canada. Yet there was literally no new money reinvested in the social foundation that Paul Martin did more to dismantle than any other federal politician ever.
In his 1995 budget, Martin eliminated the two most important pieces of legislation responsible for that foundation - the Established Program Funding and Canada Assistance Plan. In the throne speech, Martin pledged allegiance to the principle of universality. Yet it was these two pieces of legislation that guaranteed the principle of universality for two generations and ensured that federal transfers were spent on health, education and welfare.
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