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Honourable Members of the Senate:
Members of the House of Commons:
I have the honour to welcome you to the First Session of the Thirty-first Parliament of Canada.
Canada has been honoured this year by visits from two members of the Royal Family. In April the Prince of Wales travelled to the west and north and to Toronto and Ottawa. In June and July Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother graciously undertook engagements in Halifax and Toronto. Members will be pleased to hear of Prince Philip's forthcoming brief visit this October in preparation for the Duke of Edinburgh's Commonwealth Study Conference in Canada next spring. Meanwhile in November Princess Anne will fulfil engagements with the Canadian Save the Children Fund.
During this year I have had a most memorable opportunity to reinforce my appreciation of the beauty, variety and natural wealth of our country. My wife and 1 have experienced the warm welcome extended to us by each region in its own special way. We have paid official visits to all ten provinces and the Northwest Territories, and we look forward to a visit before long to the Yukon Territory. We have also had periods of residence in The Citadel, Quebec, and in quarters made available in the Governor's House at Lower Fort Garry.
1 am proud, in my capacity as representative of our gracious Sovereign Queen Elizabeth II, to participate in this important ceremony in the life of our nation, which brings together the three elements of the Parliament of Canada, the Crown, the Senate and the House of Commons.
1 look forward to meeting the members of this new Parliament.
My ministers were given a mandate to change the direction of the Government of Canada, as we enter the 1980s. The basic purposes of that change will be to enhance the rights, freedoms and opportunities of individual Canadians, and re-establish the spirit of partnership and renewal which are fundamental to our federation.

The mandate of my ministers is also to build upon the special strengths of Canada. We front on one mass market and three great oceans, with access to the world. Each of our regions contains vast physical resources which can be the basis of industrial strength well into the future. Confident local identities are emerging-rooted in language, custom and community-and yielding a cultural vitality unique among nations. My ministers believe that the way to build a whole nation is to respect our individual parts, and you will be invited to consider measures to build upon the diverse regional and cultural strengths of Canada.
During the past four months, my ministers have made every effort to change the climate of federal/provincial relations which has prevailed in recent years. As a result of their efforts, there has been visible progress. An agreement on lotteries has been concluded and agreement in principle has been reached with certain coastal provinces concerning offshore mineral resources. Bringing about this change in relations is fundamental to my government's philosophy. Working with our provincial partners, we seek practical solutions to concrete problems.
To make federalism work, it is essential to change the attitudes of the past and the federal government must set the example. Accordingly, it is a primary goal of my government to bring about a new era in federal-provincial relations. Consultation and co-operation will be the hallmarks of that new era. The time has come to reconcile our differences. It is time to work together to fully realize our country's potential. It is by building for the future that we will renew Canadian federalism. In this spirit, my government looks forward to the next Conference of First Ministers in Ottawa this year.

Citizens and Parliament can control government only if information is public. You will be asked to approve freedom of information legislation based on the principle that government information should be available to the people, that necessary exceptions to that principle should be limited and specified, and that disputes over the application of those exceptions should be resolved independently of the government.
To correct inequities currently borne by some Canadian individuals, you will be asked to amend sections of the Indian Act, to extend spouses' allowances in circumstances where they are now denied, to amend certain legislation respecting veterans, and to further protect the privacy of individual Canadians.
You will also be asked to consider reforms to extend the power of Parliament. Proposals will be submitted to the Standing Committee on Procedure and Organization to strengthen the powers and resources of parliamentary committees, to accord more prominence to private members' initiatives, and to make my ministers more accountable to you. The standing committee also will be invited to consider the question of a permanent Speaker for the House of Commons.
To demonstrate the capacity of Parliament, you will be asked to approve the immediate establishment of four small select committees, with the resources and powers necessary to enquire fully into the special needs of handicapped and disabled Canadians; measures to strengthen the role of the voluntary sector in our society; policies with respect to foreign ownership, including the operations of the Foreign Investment Review Agency; and measures necessary to prevent recurring cost overruns on major government projects. You will be invited to establish a joint committee to undertake a broad enquiry into the future development of nuclear energy in Canada. In addition, standing committees of Parliament will be invited to examine Canadian cultural policy, Canadian foreign policy, and the retirement income needs of Canadians in the 1980s. Annual reports of crown corporations, the commissioner of official languages, the Economic Council of Canada and other similar bodies will be referred automatically to the appropriate committees of Parliament.
To broaden responsibility for the management of Parliament, Privy Councillors not members of cabinet and drawn from both sides of the House will be invited to serve as commissioners of internal economy.

My ministers believe the greatest immediate challenge facing Canada today is to restore growth, confidence and jobs to the Canadian economy. While our economy faces serious immediate problems, my government believes the economic potential of Canada is the strongest in the world. My ministers will propose a five-part strategy to build on that potential.
First, my ministers will reduce the burden of government on the economy by better controlling expenditures. A new expenditure management system has been introduced within the government to set strict over-all spending limits, to ensure that all ministers accept full responsibility for spending restraint, and to require that funds for new programs come from savings in existing programs. In that context, you will be asked to approve creation of a Ministry of State for Social Development to better co-ordinate social programs and expenditures.
My government has initiated action to reduce the size of the federal public service and to offer for private purchase and ownership Crown corporations operating in areas where direct government intervention is no longer necessary. Legislation will be introduced to strengthen control over and accountability of remaining Crown corporations. You will also be asked to approve "sunset" legislation to provide a regular opportunity for Parliament to judge whether government programs and agencies need continue in their present form, if at all. The form of the estimates to be placed before you will be improved to provide more accurate information. You will be given projections of government revenues and expenditures for the next four years so that you can judge the probable impact of today's decisions on tomorrow's economy.

Second, my government will place greater reliance on individual initiative to generate growth and jobs for Canadians. You will receive proposals for regulatory reform, designed to ensure that the certainty and nature of government regulation encourages individual initiative and planning. Measures will be introduced to expand research and development in Canada and to further promote exports of Canadian goods and services. You will be asked to approve agreements arising from the Tokyo round of multilateral trade negotiations, including adjustment measures for industries adversely affected by those agreements. The Minister of State for Economic Development will convene a National Economic Development Conference to discuss with the provinces, business, labour, co-operatives and other groups, Canada's economic goals for the decade ahead, and how they might best be achieved in a spirit of full economic partnership. In that same spirit, legislation will be introduced to improve the handling of industrial disputes within federal jurisdiction.
Third, my government will propose measures to help individual Canadians build a stake in our country. You will be asked to approve a program of tax credits for mortgage interest and property taxes. Measures will be placed before you to assist small and medium-size enterprises, and to encourage more Canadians to participate in the ownership of public and private enterprises. You will be asked to consider revisions to the Employment Tax Credit program, the creation of a Youth Employment Secretariat, and other measures to create new jobs for young Canadians. An employment strategy for women will be placed before you. Programs to assist native Canadians to develop and apply work skills will be expanded. Changes will be introduced in the unemployment insurance program to ensure greater equity and to remove disincentives to work.
Fourth, my government will ask you to support programs which build upon the strengths of the regions of Canada. Legislation will be placed before you to strengthen the mandate of the Department of Regional Economic Expansion. You will be asked to consider a white paper on future development of our fisheries resources, prepared in consultation with fishermen, the fishing industry and the provinces. My ministers have begun to overhaul the grain transportation system through appointment of a grain transportation co-ordinator, the signing of agreements for the development of the Prince Rupert terminal, and a significant increase in hopper car capacity. A Seaway Advisory Council will be created to ensure that users and affected areas can contribute to policy concerning this essential waterway. My government will ensure an even flow of work to Canadian shipyards, as we develop an effective Canadian merchant fleet. Measures will be introduced to encourage further mining development in the Canadian north, and to strengthen the capacity of our two territorial governments to manage their own affairs. In co-operation with the provinces and industry, a national tourism strategy will be developed.
Fifth, my government is committed to making Canada self-sufficient in energy by 1990. To that end, in consultation with the provinces, measures will be introduced to encourage a significant reduction in Canada's over-all energy consumption, and to stimulate a major expansion in our capacity to supply and distribute energy in various forms. In bringing forth these measures, my government accepts and respects provincial jurisdiction over resources, as it accepts its own responsibility to ensure economic stability, competitive advantage and other national objectives.
My government views the diversity of Canada as a great national asset, and is determined to encourage, not limit, the development and expression of that diversity. That encouragement will be the beginning principle of the proposals by my ministers for consideration by the parliamentary committee reviewing cultural policies. It will be the purpose of an amendment to the Immigration Act to embed in its preamble the multicultural fact of Canada.
Legislation will be introduced to encourage fuller provincial and parliamentary participation in telecommunications policy-making. The Canadian Film Development Corporation Act will be amended to significantly increase private sector participation in the corporation and to broaden its mandate to encompass development of the recording and publishing industries in Canada.
Members of the House of Commons,
During the session you will be asked to appropriate the funds required for the services and payments authorized by Parliament.
You will be asked to approve a number of bills left pending at the dissolution of the previous Parliament.
You will be asked to consider other measures.

Honourable Members of the Senate,
Members of the House of Commons,
May divine providence guide you in your deliberations.