Response to the 2025 Speech from the Throne

The Speech from the Throne was presented today in the Legislative Assembly of PEI. This speech presents the priorities and key investments for this government, led by new premier Rob Lantz. While there were a few announcements and initiatives today that are positive for our province, there is an overall significant lack of real action to help Islanders navigate these challenging times.

This government is continuing its preference for tax credits as the solution to economic pressures. Why is this government so reluctant to directly support small businesses in this province? Let me be clear – tax credits don’t help with cash flow for small businesses when they are struggling – and that includes fishers and farmers across our Island. Direct funding support, including cash for market expansion and lost revenue, would be much more impactful for a comparable budget expenditure. 

There is investment to support further expansion of export-ready businesses, including trade missions and logistics – but export markets have a high entry point and ignore the opportunity in our local and interprovincial markets. In these uncertain times, we should be thinking about import substitution rather than putting all of our eggs in the export market basket.

Our economy relies on a workforce that can respond to the challenges of the day. We must recognize that growing our workforce includes supporting and recognizing the qualifications and training of the many skilled immigrants coming from across Canada and around the world, as well as training our youth. The announcement of the new practice ready assessment centre to evaluate and train international physicians is a really good example – but PEI is the last province in Canada to implement it.  Is it any wonder our healthcare system is struggling to recruit and retain health care specialists?

It is glaringly obvious that First Nations were an afterthought in this throne speech, with barely a sentence added at the end, and no mention of reconciliation. Likewise, action on climate change, with only a brief mention of coastal erosion. While there was a commitment to expanding wind and solar installations to increase PEI’s renewable energy capacity, this is also the government that just ‘paused’ the solar installation rebate program with no notice to the industry, jeopardizing multiple PEI businesses and putting up to 200 skilled workers out of a job.

It is promising to hear a commitment to transparency, particularly related to land transactions which have been hidden behind cabinet confidence and the bureaucracy of IRAC. Equally promising is the commitment to a public intervenor and consumer advocate at IRAC. Time will tell if this commitment is honoured, and applied fairly and equally.

We already know that on housing this government has not delivered, with only 69 public housing units completed in five years. Announcing more housing targets does not get people into homes. We need literally hundreds of units of publicly-owned and operated housing, and we need them now. Action for market housing is also missing. Unlike some other jurisdictions, PEI keeps the provincial portion of the HST on new homes, while the GoC returns their 5% of the HST but the province keeps 10% on every house built. 

As a final note – Housing First is the key to addressing homelessness, by getting people into housing with no barriers or requirements. The Green Party of PEI focused on Housing First in its “Putting People First: A Housing Strategy for PEI”, released in 2019. It’s great to hear this government finally get on board – even if, as with the rest of this throne speech, the details and action are absent.