Mr. Speaker, the throne speech was a missed opportunity for the government. It was a time for the government to show its vision for the entire country. Unfortunately there was nothing for Canada and Canadians living in rural areas such as the riding of Gander—Grand Falls.
I can only speak about my riding because I do not fully understand at times, listening to members speak, what is happening in other ridings. I can only concentrate on how my people are feeling and how it is affecting them. The throne speech offers no hope and demonstrates what a low priority rural Newfoundland and Labrador is for the present government.
After two previous speeches from the throne only 28 of the 114 promises have been actually fulfilled. We hear from both sides that the numbers vary, but why promise to do a lot of things when nothing is done? This goes back to the 1993 Liberal platform. It is a clear admission that after nearly 10 years of government the Liberals have failed to achieve what they have set out to do. It is an admission of failure to the people. This country needs new ideas and a new approach. The Liberal government is full of promises but for some reason or another, it is short on performance.
I want to highlight some of the areas that were missed and are important for my riding. Rural Newfoundland and Labrador is important to me and should be to the government. One of the things that is lacking in my area is the ability to have technical support so that people can have the same access to all the technical ideas and thoughts that urban centres have. A former MP started that motion but because of the cost factor it failed. Sometimes if we are serious about doing something for rural Canada and rural Newfoundland and Labrador, there is a cost factor that we must look at. Sometimes the cost is not that much when it is compared to other items.
One of the other items that was a major loss for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador was the custodial management of the nose and tail of the Grand Banks. While the government talked about protecting species at risk and environment protection it failed to protect the most important resource of our province, which is fish.
We talk about Kyoto being costly for Canadians. Custodial management is the way to guarantee the protection of several marine species and a way of life for people in Newfoundland and Labrador, especially from my riding.
We can also look at the airline industry in rural Newfoundland and Labrador and rural Canada. There is no way in the world that any politician can state in the House that rural Newfoundland and Labrador and rural Canada are getting the same service as the urban centres. It is impossible for anyone to say that. In my travels, as well as the travel of other MPs, it is a difficult task to get flights out and to make connecting flights because of the limitations.