SoVote

Ms. Valerie Bradford (Kitchener South—Hespeler, Lib.)

Jan/31/22 4:32:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am humbled and honoured to rise today for the first time in this special place as the member of Parliament for Kitchener South—Hespeler. I am grateful to the fine people of Kitchener South—Hespeler for placing their faith in me to represent them and to be their strong voice in Ottawa. I am also honoured to serve with fellow members from across Canada who have been chosen to represent the interests of their fellow Canadians. Of course, nobody arrives at this place on their own, and I owe a debt of gratitude to my three children. Brad and Allison encouraged and supported me from the beginning and worked hard on my nomination and election campaigns, and Ian cheered me on from a distance in Houston. I am in fact what I refer to as a “late onset politician”. I followed my son Brad, a Toronto councillor, into this line of work, and he was very instrumental in helping me to achieve this lifelong goal. I would also like to thank my tireless team of volunteers, who stretched from Ottawa, Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo and all the way to Windsor. Many of them were with me right from the beginning when I first sought the nomination well over a year ago and stayed with me throughout the journey. I would not be standing here today without their dedication, enthusiasm, hard work and determination. Some of them have now transitioned into staff members in my constituency and Hill offices. They continue to serve the residents of Kitchener South—Hespeler. My journey to this place has been a long and winding road. I grew up on a dairy farm near Dunnville, Ontario, where I learned the value of hard work and responsibility at an early age. For the past two decades, however, I have called the region of Waterloo home. Over my working life, I have been able to experience working in a number of careers, both in the public and private sectors. These included the tourism industry, financial services, real estate, media and municipal government. Most recently, I spent the last 15 years working in the field of economic development for the great city of Kitchener, focusing on business development in the manufacturing sector, which is still the largest sector of the local economy. Public service is my passion, and I am excited to have the opportunity to continue my commitment to public service in this new way. Life, for me, has not always been easy. I suddenly found myself a single parent when my children were ages three, six and seven. It was a struggle raising three children on my own without a safety net, as I did not have family close by who could help out on a regular basis or on short notice. Failure was not an option. There was no plan B. I know many Canadians are facing these challenges today. I have been there and I empathize with those struggling to balance family, finances and careers. These past two years have only made it harder. This is why I am so passionate about our government’s early learning and affordable child care plan, which will enable parents, primarily women, to participate fully in the economy, as they are able. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it makes sense from an economic standpoint. The best thing the government can do to get more women into the workforce, close the gender gap and build our economy is to provide more affordable child care. Canada is at its best when all individual Canadians are at their best and able to fully utilize their skills. Our government is committed to delivering on this and has successfully completed agreements with all provinces and territories, save Ontario. It is a shame that Ontario families are the only ones left out at this point. Rest assured, our government will continue to pursue affordable child care for the children and families of Ontario so that no one is left behind. Another area of focus for me is that of workforce development. I had the privilege of serving on the Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin for eight years, including the past three years were as its chair. It is critical for the success of Canada and our economy that everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential and enjoy meaningful work that they are trained and equipped to succeed in. This is a very achievable goal, but it will require the involvement and co-operation of all levels of government. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that this is indeed possible. We need to continue that level of collaboration and co-operation to help all Canadians succeed and prosper. Canada is at its best when individual Canadians are at their best and are able to participate fully to their maximum potential. I believe the federal government can do great things when it listens to people, takes action and supports our most vulnerable. Let us build a future where everyone can succeed and let us build it together. I am looking forward to working with members from all sides of the House to make this happen for Canadians. The recent unanimous passage of the bill banning conversion therapy demonstrates what can be accomplished when we set aside our differences, put the needs of Canadians first and work together for the benefit of all. Canadians expect and deserve no less.

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Ms. Valerie Bradford

Jan/31/22 4:39:10 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I share the hon. member's concern about housing affordability. Unfortunately, the rest of the world has discovered what a wonderful place the Waterloo region is to live. However, our government has done a number of things to address this. In fact, it was our government that first announced the national housing strategy, a 10-year plan to invest over $72 billion to give more Canadians a place to call home. Launched in 2017, it would create up to 160,000 new homes, meet the housing needs of 530,000 families, and repair and renew more than 300,000 units. We also have the rapid housing initiative. The first round exceeded its initial target of creating up to 3,000 new affordable units. It has actually resulted in the construction of more than 4,700 units across Canada since October 2020. Expanding on this successful initiative, 10,000 new affordable housing units will be created across the country through the rapid housing initiative, exceeding the initial goal of 7,500 new units. Most of these housing units will be constructed within the next 12-18 months. We are also introducing a new rent-to-own program that will help people who cannot accumulate a down payment or meet the requirements for a mortgage to be able to buy their houses over time.

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Ms. Valerie Bradford

Jan/31/22 4:41:37 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I share the hon. member's concern. The residential schools, which we should not refer to as schools because that is not what schools do, are a shame on all of us. I am honoured and privileged to have the Anishnabeg Outreach centre in my riding of Kitchener South—Hespeler. It has done a lot of work on reconciliation and outreach not only in the indigenous communities, but with all members of the community. As Stephen Jackson likes to mention, in order to reconcile, we have to heal on both sides. We are hurting too, and we feel shame when we see what has happened. We are all united in making sure that it never happens again. This will not happen overnight. The problem was not created overnight. It will take a lot of work with all sides of the House working together through this painful journey and supporting our indigenous brothers and sisters as they come to terms with it.

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