It's a document that's supposed to lay out the government's plans, but for the province's third political parties there are details missing in the government's throne speech.
NDP leader Mike Redmond said he didn't hear enough in the speech about how the government was going to create jobs, how it was going to work with small businesses and how the HST will impact all Islanders.
"Those are concerns," he said.
While Redmond said he was glad to hear the government talk about hope, engaging Islanders and improving the government's fiscal responsibility, there is still a lot to be done.
Among the announcements made in the speech was the implementation of the HST, which the government announced as part of its spring budget.
Redmond referred to it as an unfair tax.
"We're concerned how that's going to affect all Islanders," he said.
When it comes to job creation, Redmond wondered what the government's economic model that focuses on small business will look like.
"Is it creating minimum wage jobs or is it creating jobs that are actually a livable wage," he said.
In his response to the speech, Green party leader Peter Bevan-Baker said there are a lot of Islanders who are aware of P.E.I.'s economic problems.
Among those problems are underfunded public sector pensions, which the throne speech addressed.
Bevan-Baker agreed the government needs to move away from defined benefits, which see retirees get a specified regular payment after retirement.
"That's going to be a very tricky thing to do," he said.
Those defined benefit pensions are not sustainable, Bevan-Baker said.
"It's one of many, many moves that we have to make to make our fiscal situation more sustainable."
When it comes to pensions, Bevan-Baker said the government could show leadership in the form of MLA pension reform legislation to share in the fiscal restraint.
"I would love to see that," he said.
Island Party representative Paul Smitz said a lot of what the government included in the speech was a repeat of what has already been talked about before.
"I don't think they're really serious about any of this stuff they're talking about," he said.
Smitz said Islanders are supposed to believe the HST is good for them because the government is telling it is.
"It's just smoke and mirrors," he said.
Thanks for the civic lesson but Mike Redmond will probably just continue to hold government accountable, as he is doing now, better than all the other party leaders. Bevan Baker is recommending a pretty good DETAIL I admit. But leadership is about overall governance which the NDP is directly adressing. We want jobs with decent incomes so people can live. Does that sound OK??????