In the Speech from the Throne which opened a new session of the House of Commons Wednesday, the government said it will not balance the nation’s books by cutting transfer payments for health care and education. “These are simply excuses for a federal government to avoid controlling spending,” it said. Among other things, the government is imposing a freeze on departmental operating budgets, including civil service salaries, and will be “aggressively” reviewing all spending “to ensure value for money and tangible results.”

Anticipating the prorogation of the Ontario legislature Thursday, and the opening of a new session with a Speech from the Throne on Monday, the Opposition has been peppering the government with questions about commitments in past speeches. On Wednesday, Progressive Conservative Health Critic Christine Elliott asked about the status of the promised Diabetes Registry, that will track how well patients are being cared for and produce reminders on when tests are due. Implementation was promised last spring but it is still not available. Premier Dalton McGuinty said the registry “is not an easy thing to do” but it is something “we will continue to work on.”

In the British Columbia legislature Wednesday, Health Minister Kevin Falcon was asked about surgical services at the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Kamloops. Physicians are protesting cuts to the surgical program. Mr. Falcon acknowledged that operating room time has been reduced, but he said wait times at the hospital for a number of important procedures are shorter than most other places. “So the adjustment that’s being made in OR times will move it up to the provincial average. It will still be better than comparable facilities and hospitals in the region.”