Throne speech blasted as disappointing 'old stuff'

Opposition leaders aredismissing Wednesday's speech from the throne as "a sorry collection of old stuff" that the Conservative government of Stephen Harper has been proposing for four years.

In the foyer of the House of Commons, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff mirrored the reaction of other opposition leaders in saying the speech, which Governor General Michalle Jean took about 75 minutes to deliver, waslong on word count but short on content.

"Beneath all the fine language is the language of cuts," he told reporters. "The cuts are coming and we'll have to look at the budget tomorrow to see how severe they are and whether they cut essential services to Canadians."

Ignatieff said Harper's government has shown that it did not need to have Parliament's last session prorogued in order to "recalibrate" and prepare a plan to help the Canadian economy recover from the economic slump of the past 18 months.

"It's taken two months and it's delivered this collection of old stuff and [is] trying to pass it off as a new vision for the country.

"I don't mind freezing my salary ... but freezing my salary is not a deficit reduction plan."

No comprehensive strategy: Layton

NDP Leader Jack Layton called the speech a "disappointment."

"We looked for a strategy, a comprehensive strategy, and I have to say it's not there," he told CBC News after the speech was delivered.

He said he was particularly dismayed at the lack of strategy for job creation.

"It's one thing to say that jobs are a priority, and it's quite another to get people back to work."

He was also disappointed by the lack of emphasis on addressing climate change.

"They say it's the most important issue facing us, but they don't outline any sort of plan," he said. "All they suggest is they want to deregulate further the permissions of tar sands development and that is, I guess, something that the big oil and gas companies will celebrate but I don't think that a lot of Canadians think that's the right thing to do."

Ignatieff also said the speech, which typically kicks off a new session of Parliament by laying out the government's agenda, was silent on a number of key issues, including energy policy and protection for the environment.

"Another area where there's total silence is what we do to deal with the demographic challenge, the aging of the population. What do we do with pension reform? Total silence on that issue, and what do they offer us? A Seniors Day.

"I want a Seniors Day, I think a Seniors Day is nice, but it's not a real solution to a real problem."

However, the Liberal leader signalled he would not be prepared to join forces with the other opposition parties to bring down Harper's minority government over his disappointment with the speech.

"I don't hear anybody screaming for an election," he added.

Nothing for Quebec: Duceppe

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe also slammed the throne speech, accusing the Tories of neglecting Quebec.

"There's nothing for Quebec, nothing for the forestry sector. While they gave $10 billion to the auto sector last year, [there are] no real changes concerning the employment insurance."

Duceppe also complained there was no mention of compensation for Quebec for harmonizing the GST with its provincial sales tax. He suggested the federal government wasn't playing fair by giving billions to Ontario and B.C. for harmonizing their taxes, while Quebec was given nothing when it did the same thing.

"I think that Harper is coming back with the same kind of attitude he had before the prorogation and we're not accepting that."