44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 4, 2022 11:00AM
- Apr/4/22 2:22:02 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, our record is clear when it comes to supporting the most vulnerable Canadians with the cost of living. Today we announced the implementation of a program that will provide high-speed Internet at $20 a month for low-income seniors and families. We introduced the Canada child benefit, which is indexed to inflation and lifted almost 300,000 children out of poverty. Our increases to the GIS have helped over 900,000 seniors. From 2015, when we formed government, to 2019, we raised 1.38 million Canadians out of poverty. That is real progress for the most vulnerable.
100 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/4/22 2:24:30 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague across the way for reminding Canadians how fiscally responsible the Liberal Party and our government are and how the Liberals under previous governments and under this government have focused on the most vulnerable people in Canada.
We brought in the Canada child benefit, which has helped lift 300,000 children out of poverty. We have supported more than 900,000 seniors. Today, we brought in a program to provide access to $20 tests for vulnerable individuals.
82 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/4/22 4:35:27 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I would reflect on the riding of Winnipeg North and say that literally hundreds of seniors have been lifted out of poverty, along with hundreds of young children. Readjusting the Canada child benefit program was quite significant. We no longer give millionaires money through that program, and there were substantial increases given. As I pointed out, there were increases to the GIS, which is for the poorest of seniors. There was the special tax on Canada's 1% wealthiest, while a tax break was given to Canada's middle class. We distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support organizations, in particular organizations that support youth, and there was enhancement to the summer youth program, which more than doubled, from what I understand, the total number of jobs.
As a member of the government, I would challenge the member to tell me of another government, either provincial or federal, that has done a better job on income redistribution than this government has in the last six years.
169 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/4/22 5:11:36 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, it is my honour today to rise in this place on behalf of my neighbours and constituents in my community of Edmonton Griesbach. Folks in my community and across Canada are facing a true crisis of affordability. With the cost of living rapidly rising and workers' wages continuing to be stagnant, or even worse decreasing as they are in my home province of Alberta, where the current Conservative government is slashing the wages of hard-working public health care workers, we must do more.
During this affordability crisis, it is our job to protect our social safety net so that it truly assists those who need it most and continues to provide Canadians with the dignity they need. We are seeing more and more seniors, people with disabilities, and Black communities, indigenous communities and all person-of-colour communities across Canada struggling to make ends meet due to this crisis. We need more protection and we need the social programs to keep them going.
This is no surprise to my community of Edmonton Griesbach. We have been struggling with the affordability crisis for years. We see, for example, a study by the Edmonton Social Planning Council. Its research showed that 9,705 lone-parent families are already experiencing poverty, while an additional 10% of Edmontonians are living in extreme poverty. This makes Alberta one of the most unequal provinces in our federation, according to the Edmonton Social Planning Council. This is something that must change.
All this is happening while large companies have been making huge profits. CN Rail and Suncor have made record profits throughout this pandemic, while everyone else did their part. We all did so much for one another. We took care of our neighbours. We talked to family members. We even gave a few bucks to some of the community organizations, trying to help others. However, these big companies—
316 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Apr/4/22 5:39:29 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I would certainly agree with him that we are on the right path by including pharmacare and dental care, which I think would be two programs that will help Canadians the most. This will change people's lives. I mentioned the example of my friend who would have had a very different life, perhaps, had she had dental care when she was a girl.
As for people with pharmacare, 10% of Canadians cannot afford to fill their prescriptions. We have free care in hospitals and we have free doctor visits, but when one gets a prescription, one has to pay for that out of one's own pocket. These are things that will change people's lives more than anything else. However, if we want to make a real big difference for all Canadians, we should bring in a guaranteed basic income that would make sure that all Canadians would not be below the poverty line. People would still work, but people could live in dignity and that would really make a difference.
175 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
