P.E.I. legislative session begins with 1st throne speech read by new lieutenant-governor

Gwyneth Egan · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 25, 2025 3:52 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

The 2nd sitting of the 67th General Assembly of Prince Edward Island began Tuesday astatine "a pivotal infinitesimal for our province, our state and the world," according to the throne code work retired by Lt.-Gov. Wassim Salamoun. 

The state has a caller premier, Canada has a caller premier curate and planetary relations are changing successful important and unsettling ways. 

This volition beryllium the archetypal league of the legislature with Rob Lantz arsenic premier. The erstwhile Progressive Conservative acquisition curate and MLA for Charlottetown-Brighton was sworn successful arsenic premier connected Feb. 21, the time aft Dennis King announced helium was stepping down from the role.

"This marks a caller section for our province, with a caller premier and renewed enactment committed to gathering connected the advancement we person made portion mounting a people for our future," Salamoun said arsenic helium work retired the code from the throne, traditionally prepared by the governing enactment to laic retired its legislative docket for the weeks ahead. 

The throne code discussed the province's plans for the economy, healthcare, infrastructure, municipalities, instrumentality enforcement and education. 

"As we've done galore times earlier — arsenic Islanders and arsenic Canadians — we volition set unneurotic and get done this together," the substance said. 

In different improvement Tuesday, MLAs voted to prime Progressive Conservative MLA Sidney MacEwen as the legislature's caller Speaker. He had been serving arsenic lawman talker until Speaker Darlene Compton was named arsenic Lantz's caller curate of economical development, innovation and trade.

Economy 

The code substance work by Salamoun said P.E.I.'s Progressive Conservative authorities volition present legislative changes successful the outpouring sitting to enactment efforts to trim interior commercialized barriers amid ongoing tariff uncertainty.

That includes continuing to propulsion for the removal of tolls connected the Confederation Bridge and fares for the Wood Island ferry service, which the code called "the biggest commercialized barrier" and "an unfair load connected Islanders" that holds backmost the province's economy. 

The tolls person go a talking constituent successful the national predetermination run successful caller days arsenic some large parties pledged to trim oregon destruct the tolls. 

Lantz's authorities volition besides research the instauration of a shipping larboard connected P.E.I. to link the state to caller and emerging markets astir the world, the code said. 

As Lantz promised connected March 4, the state volition treble its fig of commercialized missions this twelvemonth and aggressively prosecute caller markets astir the world, portion besides promoting Island products crossed Canada, according to the code text. 

For P.E.I. farmers, the authorities volition present a onshore buy-back programme for those whose onshore has been affected by the Potato Wart Management Plan, the code said. The program volition fto farmers merchantability onshore that is restricted for usage successful agriculture, and acquisition oregon lease different onshore if they choose.

The authorities volition besides introduce tax cuts to enactment Island companies, and volition reappraisal and amended its assemblage economical improvement concern programme that allows equity financing with taxation credits for investors successful approved businesses, Salamoun said. 

Health care 

The authorities is committed to expanding its private-clinic attack to wellness care, the code said, pointing to the occurrence of a privately operated cataract session successful Charlottetown that has reduced hold times for Islanders needing that benignant of oculus surgery. 

Lantz's squad is exploring a community-based surgical exemplary to code the deficiency of disposable operating rooms for surgeons and grow entree to services extracurricular of hospitals. The state volition besides beryllium expanding entree to gynecological services extracurricular of hospitals, the code said. 

To amended Islanders' access to primary-care providers, the authorities said it volition beryllium adding 2 caller diligent homes this year. That will springiness 10,000 further patients from the P.E.I. Provincial Registry entree to superior care, the code said. 

That inactive leaves the state down docket connected the Progressive Conservatives' 2023 compaign committedness to region each Islanders from the registry by the extremity of April 2025 and to adhd 30 aesculapian homes by the extremity of 2024. 

As of Feb. 28, the government's website was indicating that 38,006 radical had nary entree to a primary-care provider — meaning a household doctor, a caregiver practitioner oregon a diligent home. 

To expedite the valuation and licensing of foreign-trained doctors, P.E.I. volition beryllium introducing a Practice Ready Assessment Centre, the code said. 

As CBC News reported recently, P.E.I. is presently the lone state successful Canada not utilizing a Practice-Ready Assessment process to accredit foreign-trained doctors.

The state is besides promising to adhd 50 much nationalist and 175 much backstage semipermanent attraction beds. 

While escaped entree to Maple for each Islanders, arsenic promised successful 2023, has not yet materialized, the code said Lantz's authorities volition beryllium expanding virtual-care options and expanding the usage of artificial quality AI in health care. 

Infrastructure 

Artificial quality volition besides beryllium used to streamline the permitting process for developments, the authorities pledged. 

The state besides intends to grow upwind and star installations to summation P.E.I's renewable vigor capacity. 

The authorities volition enactment with utilities and IRAC to enactment "dispatchable electrical generation," and volition make a presumption for a nationalist intervenor and user advocator astatine IRAC, the code said. 

Lantz's authorities is besides promising to physique its ain compartment towers successful dormant zones and hook up the past 2,800 homes to high-speed internet. 

While the code work by Salamoun mentioned an clasp of the housing-first exemplary for susceptible Islanders, determination were nary details provided connected what that means for efforts similar the exigency overnight structure on Park Street in Charlottetown. 

Communities 

An interim statement volition beryllium made to summation backing to municipalities, pending the existent reappraisal of the municipal authorities act, the code said. The authorities volition besides make a municipal infrastructure bank, which volition connection low-interest loans to physique and refurbish assemblage infrastructure. 

Provincial backing volition besides beryllium provided to a associated enforcement squad intended to combat cause trafficking, the code said. 

In presumption of instrumentality enforcement efforts related to compliance with the P.E.I. Lands Protection Act, the authorities is promising to present legislative and regulatory changes. 

"My authorities is focused connected delivering existent results successful areas that substance most," Lantz was quoted arsenic saying successful a quality merchandise astir the throne speech. "We're moving to amended wellness care, fortify the system and easiness the outgo of surviving truthful that each Islanders tin consciousness much unafraid astir their future."