Summary Of Throne Speech And Analysis Of Manitoba Economy During COVID-19 Assessment Answer

Answer :

Summary of the Throne Speech

The Speech from the Throne helps the people of the state to understand the goals of the government and the steps government will take to achieve them. The Speech from the Throne was given on September 23, 2020 by her Excellency, Honorable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada. The agenda of the government in the speech was majorly to fight against COVID-19 and have least effect on the economy and people of the country. The government approach will have the following four foundations:

• Fight the Pandemic and save lives of the people in all possible ways- pursuing technology for fast test results and treatment
• Support to the business and people in all possible ways and for as long as the situation demands – incentives to business to hire and retain employees, financialsupport to business which are on  the verge of shut down due to lockdown and less business activities. 
• Making the country more resilient by creating more jobs and making the middle class more strong. The government is planning to create one million jobs by investment in social sector and infrastructure and providing more training to up skill the workers.
• Not let the Canadian Values get lost in the difficult times like gender equality, reconciliation and systematic racism. 

The speech emphasized on the need of more strong and sustainable economy. The government is planning to find out ways by which it can tax the extremely rich people and reduce the inequality in the country. The liberals also promised to create more sustainable, affordable and strong childcare and learning centers so that the young parents especially the mothers done have to make choice between the work and family (Government of Canada, 2020). 

Economy of Manitoba

Manitoba has had a steady economic growth. Though the state is rich in natural resources and has fertile farm land, its economy is not dependent only on agriculture and has a much diversified industry. The state has high employment rate and good connectivity due to its location of being in the center.   The economy is string because of emphasis on innovation, quality of products, reliability and sustainability in the nation of Canada as well as global market (Manitoba, 2020). The State of Manitoba has a huge export sector all over the world ranging from  USA to China, Japan, Korean States and Middle East counties. The exported products comprise of a very diverse manufacturing sector which includes aerospace materials, buses, building products, various electronic products, medicines and pharmacy products and processed foods. Due to the diversification the economy of Manitoba survives the cyclical decline in the commodities prices. 

In the country of Canada Itself, Manitoba produces about 10% of the agriculture products, livestock and some crops (canola, Wheat, soya, Flax, etc) of about 1/3 of the total market in the country. The State has good fertile land and is clubbed with skilled work force and competitive environment, making food processing as the largest sub-industry in the state (Gov.mb.ca, 2020). 

Effect of COVID -19 on Economy

The GDP growth of the State had been steady over last few years. 

However, COVID 19 has affected all the economies in the world and Manitoba is no different in this. There has been decline in the GDP of the state as follows:

 Still the State is in a stable position due to its good management policies. The government of the state through its careful and prudent budgeting since 2016, saved about  $10 million of additional debt and $200 million annually in debt servicing cost. These savings are serving the country in its rainy days now. 

Policies from Federal Government and their Impact

The Government of Manitoba has taken the following measures to fight against COVID-19:

1. Investing in the health care System of the country
2. Protecting the livelihoods of people:
3. The country is investing about $480 million to protect people and business from the pandemic impact.

    The measures taken by Government are (Economical and Fiscal update, Manitoba, 2020):

• Support to the child care providers so  that the working parents in need of child care can continue to work
• Freezing the rent increase of residential properties  from 1Aprilto 30 September 2020
• Accelerating removal of $75 million of annual PST from property insurance, effective July 1 
• Giving employers more flexibility for employees furloughed as a result of COVID-19
• Manitoba Gap Protection Plan gives $6,000 to businesses that do not qualify under federal programs
• Manitoba Economic Support Centre helps businesses, non-profits and charities connect with programs

It is believed that the only way out to recover from the pandemic is to grow the economy.   The fiscal impact is expected to stretch  to 2021/2022. The state plans to make the economy more resilient by making high investment in healthcare and economy growth. The action plans are:

• Announced $600 million ramp up in infrastructure to jump start the economy
• Announced Manitoba Job Restart Program
• Student Jobs Manitoba connects students and employers
• Summer Student Wage Subsidy program supports employers to hire high school and post-secondary students