SoVote

Hon. Karina Gould (Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Lib.)

Nov/29/21 2:37:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government has taken action on the cost of living for families. One of the first things it did was increase the Canada child benefit. The government has committed to reducing the cost of day care. We understand how important it is to make sure that we are there for families, and we are going to continue to do that.

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Context: House Hansard - 6 - Nov/29/21

Hon. Karina Gould (Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Lib.)

Nov/29/21 2:48:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I share my colleague's concern, because it is important for this government to make sure that we are supporting those with the lowest incomes, particularly families, across the country. We know that families in particular have been impacted by unpredictable added expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That is why, through the CCB, we are providing additional payments this year to help families through this difficult time. Families are receiving up to $1,200 per child under the age of six, with the first payment of up to $600 made last May. This will benefit about 1.6 million Canadian families and about 2.1 children under the age of six.

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Context: House Hansard - 6 - Nov/29/21

Hon. Karina Gould (Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Lib.)

Nov/29/21 6:34:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as this is my first time rising to address the 44th Parliament, I wish to thank the people of Burlington for electing me for a third term. It is a privilege to be here in Ottawa representing them and advocating for our community. It is also an honour, as the new Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, to be working on behalf of the people of Burlington and families from coast to coast to coast. I want to congratulate the member for Fort McMurray—Cold Lake on her election. As someone who recalls bringing a very tiny baby into the House, it is nice to have another mom in Parliament. I am looking forward to working with her to deliver for families across the country. The Government of Canada has made a clear commitment to support families with young children now and after the pandemic. Through budget 2021 we invested up to $30 billion over five years, with up to $9.2 billion in permanent funding as of 2025-2026, to make this promise a reality. We are committed to working collaboratively in partnership with the provinces and territories to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system. Most importantly, we are committed to building a system that gives all young families access to high quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive child care. We have signed bilateral agreements with nine provinces and territories that will cut child care costs for children under five by 50% next year. Alberta is bringing in this policy as of January 1, 2022. That is pretty immediate action for families in our country. Saskatchewan has already implemented its 50% reduction in fees, retroactive to July 2021. I call that progress. This is the first step in parents across the country having access to high quality early learning and child care for an average of $10 a day within the next five years. As the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance has said, it is good feminist economic policy. It is also smart economic policy. This is what Canadians expect of us, and it is why we are working hard to conclude negotiations with the four remaining provinces and territories as soon as possible. In keeping with the co-developed and endorsed indigenous early learning and child care framework, we have also made it a priority to work collaboratively with first nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation to ensure indigenous children will have access to affordable, high quality and culturally appropriate early learning and child care. There is more. We also continue to support Canadian families with the Canada child benefit. In July 2016, the government introduced the Canada child benefit in order to better support low- and middle-income families. The benefit is simple, generous and targeted, which means that about nine out of 10 families are benefiting more from it than from previous child benefit programs. In addition, to ensure that this benefit continues to help families in the long term, the government began indexing it in July 2018, in order to reflect the cost of living, an annual indexing that continues to this day. The Canada child benefit has already played an important role in reducing child poverty. Since it was introduced in 2017, some 435,000 children have been lifted out of poverty. These combined measures will help Canadian families continue to put food on the table even with challenges such as inflation at play.

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Context: House Hansard - 6 - Nov/29/21

Hon. Karina Gould

Nov/29/21 6:39:46 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think it is really important to recognize how important the climate emergency is. We are seeing right now in British Columbia the devastating impact of the floods. We saw, over the course of the summer, the absolutely terrifying wildfires. As the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, I recognize that fighting climate change is something we need to do so that our kids will continue to grow into a hospitable world. I also appreciate that we need to take care of families and we need to ensure that everyone, no matter which industry they are working in, has a quality, good-paying job that will help to put food on the table and enable their children to grow and have the opportunities they deserve. That is exactly what our government will do.

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