Jean-Yves Duclos

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for giving me the opportunity to share the deep concern of Canadians and all members of the House for the very trying circumstances of families of missing or murdered children. The current program that was brought in by the previous government is clearly not working. In the coming months, we will study the program, make some changes to it, and ensure that it works properly.

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians stand by the people of Alberta and Fort McMurray in this terrible catastrophe. Our government is committed to helping Canadians affected by this forest fire and is concerned about the health and safety of workers and families. Service Canada is making every effort possible to provide direct support and assistance, which can be obtained by calling 1-800-O-Canada, going online at www.servicecanada.gc.ca, or visiting Service Canada centres in areas outside of those evacuated.

Madam Speaker, there are indeed two sets of rules: one that increased taxes for the richest 1% in 2016, which the NDP opposed, and another that lowered taxes for the middle class. There is also the rule about not sending cheques to millionaire parents who do not need the money and enhancing the Canada child benefit for nine in 10 families, which was implemented in July 2016. Unfortunately, the NDP also did not support this “rule” to help middle-class families.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for London North Centre for his question and congratulate him on his excellent French and his hard work.We were elected to help the middle class and to help more Canadians join it. To that end, we need to provide quality services to Canadians. For this reason, I am very pleased to announce that Canadians now have access to 300 passport service centres across the country. This is twice as many passport service centres as there were under the Harper government just a few years ago. We are very proud of this, because serving Canadians should be the Canadian government's primary objective.

Mr. Speaker, I believe we all witnessed the passion and compassion of a member of this assembly yesterday. We are all concerned about the difficulties some families face. We care too.What we tried to say in the House yesterday is that the government is working very hard to strengthen the middle class and reduce poverty for all Canadian families.

Madam Speaker, again, I am delighted by the interest of the other side in poverty. This morning, I am glad that this gives me the opportunity to signal that the Canadian child benefit is going to reduce poverty for Canadian families, from 11.2% to 6.7%, take the families of 500,000 out of poverty, and, as I mentioned earlier, lead to the largest fall in poverty ever seen in the history of our nation to the lowest level of child poverty ever observed in our history.

Mr. Speaker, let me first thank the member for Etobicoke Centre for his hard work in favour of the families and children in his community.Our government committed to working for the most vulnerable of all Canadians. That is because one homeless Canadian on the streets is one too many in our country. That is why reaching home, the new homelessness program, is going to increase the number of communities that will benefit from funding from the federal government. That is why I am calling upon all these communities to apply for additional funding. That is why, by working together, we can make sure we reduce homelessness by at least 50%.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. It gives me the opportunity to say how moved the Canadian government and I were by the sadness and suffering of our families in Quebec City. These deaths occurred under extremely difficult circumstances thousands of kilometres away from home. This was a tragedy for the families and friends, for the entire Quebec City region, and for the entire Canadian government.

Mr. Speaker, anyone who takes gender equality seriously knows that high-quality, affordable day care services are essential, so we know just how important day care services are, not only for parents, but also for children, and particularly children from more vulnerable families. Back in 2016, we announced our plan to create up to 40,000 spaces in educational daycare centres across the country by 2028. We want better, more affordable child care for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to take this question because not only is the Canada child benefit lifting 300,000 children out of poverty across the country, but also, in my colleague's riding, families of 22,000 children are now getting a $200 tax-free benefit every month, which is more than they were getting under the previous system.

Mr. Speaker, the members of the House were all elected to serve their constituents. We are all listening and in tune with their needs. We are saddened by the difficulties they face. We are all there to serve them. What I said yesterday pertains to a legal matter, and I will say it again today. I will add that the minister responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency will work very hard to ensure that all of the workers involved, who are going through a difficult time, are treated with dignity, fairness and respect.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank and congratulate my colleague on her question.I wish to remind my colleague that our government takes poverty among families and children very seriously. I would like to remind her that, across Canada, the families of six million children are currently receiving a Canada child benefit that is better and worth more than the one provided by the previous government. This also means we are lifting 300,000 children out of poverty, which will translate into the lowest child poverty rate in the history of Canada and the greatest poverty reduction ever achieved in our great nation.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to take this opportunity to provide reliable facts to the House, and to all Canadians. One thing that is certainly well known is that we have put into place a reduction in middle-class taxes, benefiting nine million middle-class taxpayers, and increasing taxes on the top 1% of Canadians. One thing that is also well known is that we have stopped sending cheques to families of millionaires, and increased family support to nine families out of 10. These are not only strong figures, but extremely important figures for Canadians who want to confide in the will and the ability of our government to work for middle-class families.

Madam Speaker, giving every Canadian a real and fair chance to succeed is at the core of our mandate, and that is why we have introduced the Canada child benefit and the new Canada workers benefit, which is going to automatically enrol two million low-income Canadians, putting more income in their pockets for them to make ends meet. That is why 75,000 of them will be lifted out of poverty, and that is why we are going to continue to work very hard to give all those Canadians working hard to join the middle class the help they need and deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Davenport for being such a strong advocate for housing. Our government is investing in affordable housing to help Canadians who need it most. That is why our national housing strategy will demonstrate the most ambitious federal housing leadership in over half a century. Our strategy will ensure that Canadians have adequate and affordable housing and will provide stable housing for homeless Canadians. These measures will take 500,000 Canadians out of housing need and lead to more inclusive communities and a stronger economy.

Sadly, Mr. Speaker, I am little disturbed by what I am hearing from the official opposition.The member should have stood up to talk about the Canada child benefit. In his riding alone, tens of thousands of children are receiving an average of $550 a month tax free. This is helping the families in his riding invest in our children, which means investing in the future. It really bothers me that here we are in 2019 and the Conservatives still know nothing about the Canada child benefit and the significant impact it is having in their communities.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank and congratulate the member for Miramichi—Grand Lake for all his hard work on behalf of families. It is very much appreciated.Bill C-87 is a crucial component in reducing poverty. It supports the $22 billion in historic new investments we have made since 2015. Those investments are lifting 650,000 Canadians out of poverty. This is only the beginning, because those historic investments are part of a longer-term plan to support middle-class families and provide additional support to those working hard to join them.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her passion, which enables me to give specific details on the Canada child benefit. This is the most significant social policy innovation in a generation. It is going to take the families of 500,000 people in Canada, 300,000 of them children, out of poverty. It will lead to the largest reduction in child poverty ever in our history, which will lead to the lowest level of child poverty ever known in our nation.

Madam Speaker, I will start by thanking and congratulating the member for Thérèse-De Blainville for his considerable support for affordable and quality day care for families.I am pleased to confirm that we recently signed an agreement for child care services with the Government of Quebec, which completes our suite of bilateral agreements with all provinces and territories. This is an historic step that will support our children, reduce poverty, ensure gender equality, and give all children in our great nation a fair and equal opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to take this opportunity to say how important the right to decent housing is in Canada for everyone, and in particular for more vulnerable Canadians. We know how important housing is for life in communities and for life in a proper home to participate in the lives of everyone else around us.I have good news to announce in a very short time. I invite our colleague to listen very carefully.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Beaches—East York for his hard work in helping more Canadians live in safety and dignity. That is why we are launching cross-country consultations on a national anti-racism plan. That is why we are also investing in more culturally appropriate support for racialized communities. That is why, by removing systemic barriers, we are going to help more Canadians live in safety and dignity in this country.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Brampton Centre for his support in the fight against homelessness.I would also like to thank and congratulate the member for Spadina—Fort York and all members of the homelessness advisory committee for their hard work and excellent report.Yesterday, we announced Reaching Home, the next federal plan to double investment in the fight against homelessness and reduce chronic homelessness by at least 50%. This is another sign that we are re-establishing federal leadership and federal partnership in providing safe and affordable homes to all Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Thérèse-De Blainville for his hard work.In 2015, Canadians made the right choice between the Conservatives' plan, which was to help millionaires, and the Liberal plan, which was to help middle-class families. In 2016, we brought in the Canada child benefit, which lifts 300,000 children out of poverty every month.In 2019, it is really unfortunate that Conservative MPs are trying to hide the very existence of the Canada child benefit and deprive 3.5 million Canadians of it every month. It is very unfortunate.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to welcome the member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith to this House, and we all look forward to working with him on all issues of matter to his constituents, including giving every Canadian in his riding a safe and affordable place to call home. I have very little time to inform him of the national housing strategy, but I look forward to talking with him about the very important details, including reducing chronic homelessness by at least 50%, giving half a million Canadian families a safe and affordable place to call home.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Guelph for his hard work on behalf of his constituents.Our government believes that all Canadians deserve access to housing that meets their needs and that they can afford. Budget 2016 invested an additional $2.3 billion over two years, which will directly help 200,000 Canadian families. We will also be launching this year the first national housing strategy in four decades. This strategy will give our communities and our housing partners the long-term support they seek to meet the housing needs of our families.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I am announcing that the 86,000 seniors who were penalized by this error will receive compensation for their loss of purchasing power. This error was discovered in April 2015 and may date back as far as 2008. We will also ensure that these 86,000 seniors will not lose other benefits as a result of this error.Mr. Speaker, we are quickly working on these cases so that seniors do not have to dip into their savings to counter the effects of these administrative errors.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking our colleague from Kingston and the Islands for his remarkable efforts to support the work volunteers do to make our society a better place.Tonight I will be pleased and privileged to take part in Canada's awards ceremony, where we will celebrate the contributions made by volunteers across Canada. This year is a special year, because we are introducing Canada's volunteer awards for past and present winners who have given and will be giving their valuable time to support our communities.I am sure everyone in this House will be with me to celebrate, thank, and congratulate our volunteers for their remarkable work.

Madam Speaker, the very difficult circumstances many Canadians, and certainly many indigenous Canadians, find themselves in when it comes to finding an affordable place to call home is something of great concern to this government and has been since the very start of our mandate. That is why in budget 2016, for the first time in 17 years, we increased the budget to fight homelessness in Canada and doubled it.That is not the end of the story. Just a few months ago, we announced the first ever national housing strategy, which is going to change the way in which indigenous Canadians across all of Canada will be able to access a safe and affordable place to call home.

Mr. Speaker, let me warmly thank our colleague from Brampton Centre for his great work on behalf of his constituents.Our government believes that thousands of Canadians have not had access to affordable and adequate housing, and because of this we have invested historic amounts in the last two budgets. We will be launching, in a few weeks from now, the first-ever national housing strategy. That will set the stage for the most ambitious demonstration of federal housing leadership in over half a century. It will also set the stage for working with partners, many of whom have been waiting for us for a long time. We are back. We are here to stay.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to the member for giving me the opportunity to say how concerned all members of the House are by the difficult circumstances some of our families find themselves in. I will have an important announcement to make on that matter soon. I just want to repeat that in the campaign, our government promised that it would be looking into EI special benefits, including maternity, parental, and compassionate care benefits.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased and grateful to have the opportunity to mention two other measures that we have implemented in recent months.We increased the guaranteed income supplement by up to $1,000 per senior per year. This will benefit 900,000 seniors in Canada and will lift 13,000 seniors out of poverty. We also transferred $200 million for seniors' housing in order to help a good many of them escape the appalling housing conditions in which they find themselves. These measures will make our society better.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased but sad to address this question. Indeed, we are in a crisis in many parts of Canada. That is because the federal government failed for many years to acknowledge its responsibilities to look after the housing needs of many communities across Canada, failed to address the particular housing needs and conditions in northern Canada, and failed to work appropriately and respectfully with indigenous peoples, including the Inuit. I am glad to say that this is changing and will keep changing over the next 10 years through the first ever national housing strategy.

Mr. Speaker, the government was elected because it promised to grow the economy and the middle class and to help more Canadians join the middle class. With that in mind, today's budget will introduce an even more solid program to make our society more inclusive and to ensure that Canadian families that are struggling have a better chance to flourish and succeed.I would ask the member to listen very carefully to what will be said in just a few minutes.

Madam Speaker, Canadians are truly a giving people, and I would like to thank the member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour for making that very clear. Canada's volunteer awards are there to recognize the important contributions volunteers make from coast to coast to coast. I am very pleased to announce that nominations for these awards are now open. I would therefore like to invite all members in this House to share that good news and to keep encouraging our hard-working volunteers, who make it possible for this country to be the best country on earth to live in.

Madam Speaker, I am so pleased to talk about the importance of reducing poverty in Canada. It has been the objective of our government since 2015. We started by introducing the most innovative social policy in a generation, the Canada child benefit, which is lifting 300,000 children out of poverty every month and 200,000 parents at the same time. We have launched, in August, the first-ever poverty reduction strategy, which is going to reduce poverty for a further 100,000 people in Canada by March 2019. We look forward to working with other governments to ensure this is well understood.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to have this opportunity to commend the member for Châteauguay—Lacolle and thank her for the wonderful work she is doing for seniors and the most vulnerable Canadians.Our government committed to ensuring that senior couples who are unfortunately separated, for reasons beyond their control, receive the benefits they are entitled to. In recent months, Service Canada has been tracking down the seniors affected and has paid nearly 700 vulnerable seniors the benefits they need. We are very determined to make sure that all vulnerable Canadians receive the benefits they deserve and expect from this government.

Mr. Speaker, once again, I appreciate this opportunity to go into more detail about how important the Canada pension plan enhancement is for women.We know that, unfortunately, many of them live alone once they reach retirement age. In recent months, we lowered the age of eligibility for old age security to 65, which will lift 100,000 Canadian seniors out of poverty or prevent them from becoming poor. Many of those seniors are women, and 80% of the seniors living in poverty are single women.This is important. We are working very hard—

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank and commend the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge for his amazing work.The government clearly understands that gender equality is good for Canadians and also for the economy.That is why we have introduced a new parental sharing benefit, which is giving parents five more weeks to spend with their children. That is why, with investments in early learning and child care, with investments in the historic Canada child benefit, we are giving more money to parents to spend on their children and more time for them to spend with their children.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for this opportunity to repeat that middle class families are our top priority. We have avoided sending cheques to families of millionaires, so we can send them to nine families out of ten, which means the families of six million children, with an average benefit of $600 per month, non-taxable. That is taking the families of 300,000 children out of poverty.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge for his great work on behalf of his constituents and as a member of the human resources parliamentary committee.Our government is committed to enhancing the economic well-being of all Canadian families. Today, we launched two initiatives to support the development of our poverty reduction strategy: first, a nationwide consultation process; and second, the selection process for an advisory committee on poverty. We want to hear the views of all Canadians on how to help more Canadians join and grow the middle class.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the member for Scarborough North for his great work in helping give more Canadians a safe place to call home. I would also like to congratulate him on his French.The $17 billion announced yesterday is going to create wonderful partnership opportunities for all levels of government, as well as the private and social sectors. It is also going to help construct or renovate homes for 300,000 families.Working together, we will provide more safe and affordable housing to middle-class families and those working hard to join it.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Avalon for his hard work.We believe that every Canadian should have access to a safe and affordable home. That is why we were so proud in November 2017 to introduce the first-ever national housing strategy, which is going to lift half a million Canadian families out of housing conditions that are unsafe or unaffordable.That is why we were proud to sign, just a few weeks ago, an agreement with the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador for $270 million, which will give the province more help to lift more people in the province out of housing conditions that are unacceptable in 2019.

Mr. Speaker, with due respect, I would encourage my colleague to encourage her colleagues to pay a bit more attention to the importance of reducing poverty in Canada, perhaps signalling the importance to their constituents of the Canada child benefit, which is going to reduce the rate of child poverty from 11.2% to 6.7%, the lowest ever level of child poverty seen in our country. As we work together, there is ample ground to do even better in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I am so delighted and so proud to be part of a team that will be implementing the most significant social policy innovation in a generation.This new Canada child benefit will be simpler, non-taxable, and will benefit nine families out of ten. It will take 300 children out of poverty. It will mean up to $6,400 per child under six, and $5,400 for other children.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to answer the question, because it is at the very core of our mandate as a government.Since 2016, we have put into place the most significant social policy innovation in a generation, called the Canada child benefit. That benefit, in itself, is lifting 300,000 children out of poverty, and their 200,000 parents at the same time.We just launched the first-ever poverty reduction strategy in August, which is going to push even further our efforts to decrease child poverty and everyone's poverty in Canada.

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to congratulate the member for Vimy on the excellent work she is doing on behalf of her constituents.Our government is committed to supporting innovative projects aimed at meeting the needs of homeless people, including youth, indigenous people, women, and veterans. Budget 2016 allocated an additional $112 million to the homelessness partnering strategy, the first investment from the Canadian government since 1999.Our national housing strategy will expand its efforts across the continuum of housing needs for our families.

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to congratulate and thank my colleague from Davenport for her hard work on behalf of her constituents and for advocating for housing.Since April 2016, our government's commitment to housing has already paid off. Two hundred thousand Canadians have seen their housing needs assisted by our measures. Later this fall, we will be launching our first-ever national housing strategy, which will create opportunities for the long term, 10 years of investment and opportunities for every other partner in Canada.We are back. We are here for the long term.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for giving me the opportunity to speak once again about the Canada child benefit and to invite our colleagues opposite, in particular members of the NDP, to clearly support it. With this policy we are no longer sending cheques to millionaire families that do not want or need the money, so we can send them to middle-class families and those working hard to join the middle class.I very much appreciate this debate and I would be pleased to continue the discussion with my NDP colleagues and to encourage them to maintain their interest in the Canada child benefit.

Mr. Speaker, following my earlier colleague's comments on the fact that we are working very hard to grow the economy and to grow the middle class, and working very hard to decrease poverty among our children and seniors, I would be curious to know why our Conservative friends have been opposing, systematically, all measures working in favour of the middle class and toward lowering poverty in Canada.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for caring about our seniors. I have some very clear statistics here that I am happy to share with him. By dropping the age of eligibility for old age security back to 65, we are keeping 100,000 seniors from living in extreme poverty.By increasing the guaranteed income supplement by about 10%, we are lifting 13,000 seniors out of poverty. By investing $200 million in housing for seniors, we are improving the living conditions of many seniors' families and of the communities in which they live.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking the member for Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle for her commendable work in support of community housing and all her constituents.On November 22, we announced and launched this country's first-ever national housing strategy, which will provide $40 billion over 10 years to get 530,000 Canadian families out of unaffordable or unacceptable housing. On April 4, we launched the federal community housing initiative, which will protect 555,000 Canadian families at risk of losing their community housing and ending up on the street. We will keep working very hard to ensure that all Canadians—

Madam Speaker, there are indeed two sets of rules: one that increased taxes for the richest 1% in 2016, which the NDP opposed, and another that lowered taxes for the middle class. There is also the rule about not sending cheques to millionaire parents who do not need the money and enhancing the Canada child benefit for nine in 10 families, which was implemented in July 2016. Unfortunately, the NDP also did not support this “rule” to help middle-class families.

Mr. Speaker, obviously, our thoughts are with Tori Stafford's family, and we sympathize with the grief and suffering they must have endured over the past nine years. Under the corrections act, decisions on inmate management are the responsibility of professional corrections staff, not politicians. The minister has asked the commissioner to review the decision made by her predecessor in order to ensure that it was compliant with existing policies and to determine whether those policies could be improved.

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians stand by the people of Alberta and Fort McMurray in this terrible catastrophe. Our government is committed to helping Canadians affected by this forest fire and is concerned about the health and safety of workers and families. Service Canada is making every effort possible to provide direct support and assistance, which can be obtained by calling 1-800-O-Canada, going online at www.servicecanada.gc.ca, or visiting Service Canada centres in areas outside of those evacuated.

Mr. Speaker, everyone in the House is sorry to hear about the difficult situations workers and families are facing. The employment insurance system is meant to help these families. I invite the member to forward all the relevant information to my department so that families and workers can get the services and benefits they need.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Thérèse-De Blainville for his hard work.In 2015, Canadians made the right choice between the Conservatives' plan, which was to help millionaires, and the Liberal plan, which was to help middle-class families. In 2016, we brought in the Canada child benefit, which lifts 300,000 children out of poverty every month.In 2019, it is really unfortunate that Conservative MPs are trying to hide the very existence of the Canada child benefit and deprive 3.5 million Canadians of it every month. It is very unfortunate.

Mr. Speaker, I believe we all witnessed the passion and compassion of a member of this assembly yesterday. We are all concerned about the difficulties some families face. We care too.What we tried to say in the House yesterday is that the government is working very hard to strengthen the middle class and reduce poverty for all Canadian families.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. It gives me the opportunity to say how moved the Canadian government and I were by the sadness and suffering of our families in Quebec City. These deaths occurred under extremely difficult circumstances thousands of kilometres away from home. This was a tragedy for the families and friends, for the entire Quebec City region, and for the entire Canadian government.

Mr. Speaker, following my earlier colleague's comments on the fact that we are working very hard to grow the economy and to grow the middle class, and working very hard to decrease poverty among our children and seniors, I would be curious to know why our Conservative friends have been opposing, systematically, all measures working in favour of the middle class and toward lowering poverty in Canada.

Mr. Speaker, the members of the House were all elected to serve their constituents. We are all listening and in tune with their needs. We are saddened by the difficulties they face. We are all there to serve them. What I said yesterday pertains to a legal matter, and I will say it again today. I will add that the minister responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency will work very hard to ensure that all of the workers involved, who are going through a difficult time, are treated with dignity, fairness and respect.

Mr. Speaker, I am very grateful for this opportunity to talk about the importance of looking after the welfare and well-being of our seniors.Last year we brought back the age of eligibility for old age security to 65 years, which will prevent 100,000 vulnerable seniors from falling into severe poverty.Last year we also reached a historic agreement with all provinces and territories which will take 300,000 vulnerable seniors out of income insecurity over the next year.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question.I share her view regarding the importance of ensuring that all Canadians have access to high-quality, inclusive, flexible, and affordable child care.As the hon. member knows, we are working very hard with the provinces and territories to guarantee that Canada, and the government in particular, resumes its leadership role in this initiative. Over the next few months, I will have the pleasure of informing the House of the specific actions that will be taken.

Mr. Speaker, of course, we are never happy but it is important to remind ourselves of the difficult circumstances in which many of our families live. That includes women, women living in difficult circumstances and sometimes in conditions of family violence.If I may, I will quote the reaction of the YWCA when the historic national housing strategy was launched a few months ago, “A gender-lens on the #NationalHousingStrategy is a game-changer for women and girls in Canada”.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity my colleague has generously given me to remind the House just how much of a priority the well-being of seniors is to our government.As the member knows, in March, we announced a substantial $1,000 increase in the guaranteed income supplement to lift 13,000 seniors out of poverty. We also lowered the age of eligibility for old age security back down to 65, which will prevent 100,000 seniors from experiencing extreme poverty because of the former government's unfortunate lack of sensitivity.

Mr. Speaker, indeed I did not have enough time in my earlier response to detail other measures that we put in, in favour of seniors, and unfortunately the Harper Conservatives voted against them. We enhanced the Canada pension plan six months after we came into office to increase the generosity, the flexibility, and the care with which our seniors will be able to retire when they do retire. Unfortunately, our Conservative friends voted against that. We also launched the first-ever historic national housing strategy, which will have a direct impact on seniors—

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for raising this issue, which is central to the mandate we received from Canadians to work for middle-class families and for those families who find it difficult to join the middle class for all sorts of reasons, including the loss of employment. Terrible health problems affect families' incomes and their confidence in the future. We have made substantial improvements to the employment insurance regime. We enhanced the five special benefits that already existed in 2015. We added two other special benefits, but it is clear that there is still much work to be done.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to say that we have a government that is entirely dedicated to the welfare of our seniors. We started in 2016 with an increase in the guaranteed income supplement of up to $1,000 per year, benefiting almost a million vulnerable seniors. We have put back to 65 years old the age of eligibility for old age security, which is going to prevent 100,000 vulnerable seniors from falling into misery. We have enhanced the Canada pension plan, which will benefit generations of seniors.We are going to continue to work very hard to advance the welfare of our seniors.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking the member for Miramichi—Grand Lake and all members of the House who have worked so hard on this issue in recent weeks.We signed an agreement with the Government of New Brunswick this morning to support workers in seasonal industries and provide them with assistance through income support, professional training, and work experience for the benefit of their families, their businesses, and their communities.We will continue to support middle-class families and those working hard to join the middle class.

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to congratulate and thank my colleague from Davenport for her hard work on behalf of her constituents and for advocating for housing.Since April 2016, our government's commitment to housing has already paid off. Two hundred thousand Canadians have seen their housing needs assisted by our measures. Later this fall, we will be launching our first-ever national housing strategy, which will create opportunities for the long term, 10 years of investment and opportunities for every other partner in Canada.We are back. We are here for the long term.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity afforded by our colleague to remind the House that Canadians elected a government that has chosen to invest in the middle class and in the future of our economy to create jobs now and in the future, as part of an inclusive, sustainable economic development approach that benefits the middle class and leaves no one behind.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for giving me the opportunity to share the deep concern of Canadians and all members of the House for the very trying circumstances of families of missing or murdered children. The current program that was brought in by the previous government is clearly not working. In the coming months, we will study the program, make some changes to it, and ensure that it works properly.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank and congratulate the member for Miramichi—Grand Lake for all his hard work on behalf of families. It is very much appreciated.Bill C-87 is a crucial component in reducing poverty. It supports the $22 billion in historic new investments we have made since 2015. Those investments are lifting 650,000 Canadians out of poverty. This is only the beginning, because those historic investments are part of a longer-term plan to support middle-class families and provide additional support to those working hard to join them.

Mr. Speaker, the importance of seniors is not only very clear in our mandate letter, but it has also been very clear in our actions since April 2016. We increased by almost $1,000 the guaranteed income supplement for 900,000 vulnerable seniors. We brought the age of eligibly for old age security back to 65 years old, which is preventing 100,000 vulnerable seniors from falling into severe poverty. We have launched, and will be launching again, important investments in housing, in health care, and all sorts of things that will produce—

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question, and I can certainly see the contrast between the former government and this one, which, for the first time in history, in its 2018 budget, recognized the challenges faced by communities, workers and families that depend on seasonal work.As the member knows, in budget 2018, we announced a historic $230-million investment that we are currently implementing together with the provinces and territories. We are eager to keep working hard for families that are themselves working hard to join the middle class.

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased with my colleague's interest in the issue of poverty. I urge him to look closely at the impact that the Canada child benefit is having on poverty in Canada.I also urge him to reconsider his party's opposition to this benefit, which will reduce poverty to levels unheard of in Canada.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from Kingston and the Islands on his excellent French and thank him for the great work that he is doing for his riding and to make maternity benefits more flexible and easily accessible.Our government promised to support parents and family caregivers by providing them with more flexible and inclusive benefits. Yesterday, my colleague and I had the privilege of announcing that consultations on this issue have begun.We look forward to hearing from all Canadian families in order to ensure that the employment insurance program is useful to them and is there for them when they need it most.

Madam Speaker, let me begin by commending the hon. member for Hull—Aylmer on the invaluable support he provides to families in his riding.Since July 2016, the Canada child benefit has been putting more tax-free money in the hands of nine out of 10 families. Since July 2016, the Canada child benefit has lifted 300,000 children and their 200,000 parents out of poverty. Since July 2018, the Canada child benefit has been indexed, meaning that is has increased with the cost of living.Our government is committed to helping middle-class families, not just millionaires. Our Canada child benefit is a shining example of that.

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy for the opportunity to answer this question.Since 2015, we have asserted many times that the EI regime is essential to middle-class families, which is why we have improved it in many ways. We made maternity, parental, caregiver and compassionate care benefits more flexible and more generous. We also created the Canada child benefit, which predominantly helps women, mothers, across Canada by helping nine out of 10 families and lifting 300,000 children out of poverty every month.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to answer that question.As everyone knows, Quebec has a remarkable history of being welcoming and open. It all started in my own riding in 1535. When Jacques Cartier arrived he asked Donnacona, grand chief of the Huron-Wendat nation at the time, where he was. The grand chief responded that he was in Canada, a welcoming, open, supportive country. In Quebec City and Quebec we are proud to be part of that great tradition.

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate and thank my colleague from Marc-Aurèle-Fortin for his excellent work on behalf of seniors.The new horizons for seniors program helps seniors participate in their communities. I am pleased to announce that the call for proposals for the new version of the new horizons for seniors program was launched yesterday. I urge all members of the House to share this excellent news and to encourage organizations in their ridings to submit projects.

Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague for once again raising the issue of pyrrhotite, which is very important in the Mauricie region. As our colleague said, as soon as we took office, we implemented important measures to keep one of our promises and to ensure that the families affected by the situation are treated respectfully and their concerns are addressed in a timely manner.We are pleased that things have improved since then, and we continue to listen, so that our government can continue to make Canadian families and their housing conditions a priority.

Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague from Laval—Les Îles for the excellent work he is doing to help families in his community with their housing needs.We believe that Canadians deserve suitable, affordable housing. In budget 2016, our government invested $2.3 billion over two years in affordable housing, which will help 200,000 families. The national housing strategy will be launched in 2017 and will ensure stable, predictable funding as part of a respectful, inclusive, and transparent partnership with all of our communities.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her question, which is a very good one. I know that she is happy the new government has big plans to fight poverty and inclusion. I invite her to watch closely as we announce measures over the coming months.

Mr. Speaker, I am very honoured to be part of a government that is investing both in the quality and the quantity of services delivered to unemployed Canadians across Canada. We have done that very significantly in the budget last year. We are very pleased that we are offering better services and better benefits targeted to both in terms of responding to the needs and to the expectations of Canadians, and with rebuilding our economy based on strong fiscal policy and very good infrastructure programs.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member for Vimy and thank her for her excellent work on behalf of seniors. We restored the eligibility age for old age security to 65, which will keep 100,000 seniors out of poverty. We also increased the guaranteed income supplement by up to $950, which will help 900,000 seniors and lift 13,000 of them out of poverty. We invested $200 million in our seniors' housing needs.I encourage the member for Vimy to keep supporting and contributing to the government's policies for seniors.

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to congratulate the member for Vimy on the excellent work she is doing on behalf of her constituents.Our government is committed to supporting innovative projects aimed at meeting the needs of homeless people, including youth, indigenous people, women, and veterans. Budget 2016 allocated an additional $112 million to the homelessness partnering strategy, the first investment from the Canadian government since 1999.Our national housing strategy will expand its efforts across the continuum of housing needs for our families.

Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to be able to repeat my answer. Since 2015, the Liberal Government of Canada has been proud of its work to make the Canadian government a leader and partner on housing again. This leadership had been lacking for far too long.In November 2017 we launched a national housing strategy that will free half a million Canadian families from living in unacceptable housing conditions all across Canada, far beyond Burnaby and Montreal. We are proud of this plan and we are now very proud to be implementing it.

Mr. Speaker, on November 22, we were very proud to launch the first ever national housing strategy. Canadians had been waiting a long time for this strategy. We had the fortune of building it with a large number of partners, and with the support of many organizations. We are very proud of the result. We are even more proud of the fact that over the next 10 years, we will work very hard with a number of partners to make sure that more Canadians have access to affordable housing in this great country.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to hear our hon. colleague talking about how proud everyone in the House is of the improvements to the Canada pension plan. These improvements will lift 300,000 families out of income insecurity in a few years. Most of these families consist of women. Beginning in 2019, this will lift 6,000 low-income workers out of insecurity, again, most of them women, all thanks to an increase in the working income tax benefit. This is very good news for all Canadians, and especially for women.

Mr. Speaker, I am again very pleased to be given this opportunity to tell the House and all Canadians how proud we are to be since 2015 investing in a historically large investment plan to build more quality, affordable and accessible child care services across Canada for all Canadians including indigenous Canadians and families. We announced just last week the first ever distinctions-based investments with our indigenous peoples that will support hundreds of thousands of families across Canada and indigenous communities and they should have more—

Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the member for Scarborough North for his great work in helping give more Canadians a safe place to call home. I would also like to congratulate him on his French.The $17 billion announced yesterday is going to create wonderful partnership opportunities for all levels of government, as well as the private and social sectors. It is also going to help construct or renovate homes for 300,000 families.Working together, we will provide more safe and affordable housing to middle-class families and those working hard to join it.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking our colleague from Kingston and the Islands for his remarkable efforts to support the work volunteers do to make our society a better place.Tonight I will be pleased and privileged to take part in Canada's awards ceremony, where we will celebrate the contributions made by volunteers across Canada. This year is a special year, because we are introducing Canada's volunteer awards for past and present winners who have given and will be giving their valuable time to support our communities.I am sure everyone in this House will be with me to celebrate, thank, and congratulate our volunteers for their remarkable work.

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank the member for Cambridge as well as all members of the HUMA committee for their outstanding work on behalf of seniors. I would also like to thank the member for Nickel Belt for tabling the motion that led to this report, as well as all members of the Liberal caucus on seniors.I will also say that we are looking forward to working with the National Seniors Council to review and respond to the important work of the committee.

Mr. Speaker, I am very grateful to our colleague for this opportunity to express how proud we are of our record of helping seniors.Last year we put into place a measure which is taking 13,000 seniors out of poverty, 90% of whom are women, through an increase in the guaranteed income supplement of up to $1,000 per year. We are also investing significantly in housing, health care, and support in communities to help our seniors live in a dignified and secure environment.

Madam Speaker, Canadians are truly a giving people, and I would like to thank the member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour for making that very clear. Canada's volunteer awards are there to recognize the important contributions volunteers make from coast to coast to coast. I am very pleased to announce that nominations for these awards are now open. I would therefore like to invite all members in this House to share that good news and to keep encouraging our hard-working volunteers, who make it possible for this country to be the best country on earth to live in.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking and commending my colleague from Brossard—Saint-Lambert for the remarkable work she does for her constituents and to support the right to housing. The right to housing is a fundamental right that must be guaranteed to all Canadians. The right to housing is also the cornerstone of the Government of Canada's first-ever national housing strategy, a strategy that will reduce homelessness in Canada by 50% and help 500,000 Canadians out of unaffordable or substandard housing conditions. Canadians are all very pleased that the Government of Canada is back as a strong, reliable, long-term housing partner.

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have elected a government that is committed to grow the economy in order to grow the middle class. We are delighted to hear today that 220,000 new jobs have been created in the last six months, most of them full-time. This is the best record in over a decade. We are very proud of that. We look forward to continuing our agenda to grow the economy and the middle class in the next budget.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to take this opportunity to provide reliable facts to the House, and to all Canadians. One thing that is certainly well known is that we have put into place a reduction in middle-class taxes, benefiting nine million middle-class taxpayers, and increasing taxes on the top 1% of Canadians. One thing that is also well known is that we have stopped sending cheques to families of millionaires, and increased family support to nine families out of 10. These are not only strong figures, but extremely important figures for Canadians who want to confide in the will and the ability of our government to work for middle-class families.

Mr. Speaker, June 6, 2019, is obviously the perfect opportunity to remind Canadians that we have a moral obligation to respect our veterans, who gave their lives to protect our safety, peace and justice.Today is also the perfect opportunity to remind Canadians of the government's commitment to ensuring that all Canadians, and certainly all veterans, have a safe and affordable place to call home. This is why we are developing a historic national housing strategy that will help reduce homelessness for Canadians and, certainly, veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank and congratulate the member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell on all his hard work on behalf of families.We know that improving gender equality means more prosperity for everyone. That is why we were so proud to introduce this new five-week parental sharing benefit in budget 2018. We were also very proud to announce yesterday that we will be introducing it three months earlier than originally planned, specifically in March 2019, which will allow 24,000 more parents to receive it.

Mr. Speaker, making sure that the employment insurance system is sound and fair is part of our plan to grow the middle class and help more Canadians join it. That plan is working.We have not only created more jobs, reduced poverty and helped middle-class families, but we have also enhanced gender equality by improving maternity, parental, compassionate care and caregiving benefits and making them more generous and flexible. We also introduced the new five-week employment insurance parental sharing benefit in 2019. These measures are helping both men and women fully participate in the labour market.

Mr. Speaker, an outstanding proportion of Canadians are benefiting from our measures. Indeed, eight out of 10 families are going to receive more thanks to our climate change initiative. Since July 2016, nine out of 10 families are receiving the Canada child benefit, which makes a huge difference in their lives. They are receiving $500 tax free every month. We are also making investments in housing and child care. In 2019, we need everyone to contribute. Not only is this good for the economy, but it will also help reduce poverty. There has been a more than 20% drop in poverty over the last two years alone.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Long Range Mountains for her remarkable work on behalf of seniors.Our government recognizes Canadian seniors' contributions to building our country and is committed to improving the lives of our seniors.I would like to thank members on all sides of the House who brought this matter to my attention. I have tasked my officials to correct the rules and to contact affected seniors to review their applications.Our government is keen to improve the lives of seniors, and we will continue to do that.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank and commend the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge for his amazing work.The government clearly understands that gender equality is good for Canadians and also for the economy.That is why we have introduced a new parental sharing benefit, which is giving parents five more weeks to spend with their children. That is why, with investments in early learning and child care, with investments in the historic Canada child benefit, we are giving more money to parents to spend on their children and more time for them to spend with their children.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to take this opportunity to thank the member for St. John's East for his remarkable work on behalf of his constituents.I am also delighted to have been able to announce this morning that a budget 2017 enhancement to our EI system will take effect on December 3. This means that parents will have more support, more flexibility to look after their children. It also means that caregivers will have more flexibility and support to look after their dear ones when they go through difficult health circumstances.This is part of our plan to grow the economy, grow the middle class, and help more Canadians join the middle class. We will celebrate that next week.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that important question. This issue is very important to us. As we have pointed out, this is about the vulnerability of the most at-risk and poorest members of our society.I think the hon. member will be surprised in the coming weeks by the new relationship that we plan to build with the provinces regarding this important issue.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Châteauguay—Lacolle for supporting the fight against homelessness.Our government is committed to supporting communities in their efforts to prevent and reduce homelessness through innovative approaches. Yesterday, I had the honour of announcing $12.5 million in new money for more innovative solutions to reducing homelessness, particularly among indigenous Canadians, youth, women fleeing violence, and veterans. Once again, I would like to thank the member for Châteauguay—Lacolle for her interest in and support for this important issue.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be given the opportunity by our colleague to say how honoured and privileged I was yesterday to sign the first-ever national agreement on child care.I think we should all be delighted in the House, especially as this is going to be about the opportunity to work over the long term to build a system that will bring support—

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe for her excellent question and the outstanding work she does for seniors in her riding. Today, I am very pleased to announce that we are launching a call for proposals for community-based projects under the new horizons for seniors program. This program is extremely important to the social security and social involvement of our seniors.I invite all members of the House to actively promote this important program for seniors.

Mr. Speaker, once again I thank my colleague for giving me an opportunity to tell the House just how proud we are.I believe all members agree that we are participating in a historic process to enhance the Canada pension plan. Like all members of the House, I myself am participating in the debate, and I am pleased to see that the opposition and members across the aisle have views they want to express to further improve the Canada pension plan reform.

Mr. Speaker, I am even more delighted to talk about the Canadian government's investments in the Quebec City region.Working in collaboration with major partners in the Quebec City region, we developed a modern, defining transit infrastructure project for my city, Quebec City, and the surrounding region. This project will reduce congestion and let families spend less time driving to work or day care. It will reduce pollution, increase families' quality of life and boost economic growth. We are very proud of this project.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for London North Centre for his question and congratulate him on his excellent French and his hard work.We were elected to help the middle class and to help more Canadians join it. To that end, we need to provide quality services to Canadians. For this reason, I am very pleased to announce that Canadians now have access to 300 passport service centres across the country. This is twice as many passport service centres as there were under the Harper government just a few years ago. We are very proud of this, because serving Canadians should be the Canadian government's primary objective.

Mr. Speaker, I am glad that my colleague is giving me the opportunity to talk about how much the situation in the Quebec City region has changed compared to what we saw over the past 10 years. People are talking to one another, they are working together, and sharing information that is essential for collaboration and important to everyone. People are being respectful of and listening to one another.We are working for the middle class. We are working toward a forward-looking economy and sustainable development, which is fundamental to the development of the Quebec City region. This is very good news for the Quebec City region. I am very pleased to be part of it.

Mr. Speaker, from day one, we announced that we believed every Canadian had a right to a safe and affordable place to call home. I am delighted to answer the question. The member knows already how ambitious we will be in supporting co-operatives and not-for-profit housing providers in the future. We have done this since 2016. Our investments of $5.7 billion has helped a million families since 2016. We look forward to doing this for many other Canadians until we are able to fully implement our national housing strategy.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak a bit about the agenda we have for seniors, a very strong agenda, and not only for this generation of seniors, many of whom are being taken out of poverty through the increase in the guaranteed income supplement and the lowering of the age of eligibility to 65 years—100,000 seniors will not need to enter into severe poverty—but also through the enhancement of the Canada pension plan, which is going to take 300,000 future seniors out of income vulnerability.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank and congratulate my colleague on her question.I wish to remind my colleague that our government takes poverty among families and children very seriously. I would like to remind her that, across Canada, the families of six million children are currently receiving a Canada child benefit that is better and worth more than the one provided by the previous government. This also means we are lifting 300,000 children out of poverty, which will translate into the lowest child poverty rate in the history of Canada and the greatest poverty reduction ever achieved in our great nation.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be able to answer this question, because we know that investments in affordable and quality child care make a big impact on improving workforce and labour force participation by women in particular, on making ends meet easier, on improving poverty reduction outcomes, on making gender equality more real in Canada and on investing in the development of our children.The good news is that we have announced a $7.5 billion investment, for the first time ever, in our daycare centres and early learning and child care. We are looking forward to implementing that over the next 10 years.

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to say that our government believes very strongly in the right of every Canadian to have a safe, affordable and accessible home. That is why, since 2015, we have invested $5.7 billion in addition to the dollars already forecast to help a million families in Canada have access to a safe and affordable home, and that is why, in November 2017, we announced the first-ever national housing strategy, which is going to reduce chronic homelessness by at least 50% and renew federal leadership and partnership in housing.

Mr. Speaker, our government believes it is very important that Canadians receive the benefits and services they deserve and need. We have put in place since budget 2016 measures that are already generating significant benefits for employment insurance recipients, for instance. The rate at which Canadians are now able to connect through the call centre has increased from 29% to 82% in less than 18 months. We have a lot of work to do and will continue to do it.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be part of a government that believes the employment insurance system has a role to play in providing an income to families going through hard times and to communities that are suffering. Since 2016, we have implemented solid measures to make the EI system more flexible and more generous. We are going to continue this work, because we strongly believe that we are just getting started.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Avalon for his hard work.We believe that every Canadian should have access to a safe and affordable home. That is why we were so proud in November 2017 to introduce the first-ever national housing strategy, which is going to lift half a million Canadian families out of housing conditions that are unsafe or unaffordable.That is why we were proud to sign, just a few weeks ago, an agreement with the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador for $270 million, which will give the province more help to lift more people in the province out of housing conditions that are unacceptable in 2019.

Mr. Speaker, I again thank the hon. member for his sensitivity to this very important issue.He has heard over the last few weeks and months this government's commitment to working on a renewed nation-to-nation relationship with indigenous peoples in order to make progress on the issues that are most important to them, including health. Our government is working with our partners everywhere in Canada, including provincial and territorial governments, to provide effective, sustainable, and inclusive services to our indigenous communities.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from Vancouver Centre for being such a strong advocate of a more inclusive and more fair society. Our government believes that housing is the cornerstone of the lives of families and communities. We are going to announce, in the next few weeks, the first-ever national housing strategy, which will be a key input in our poverty reduction strategy. We look forward to building on those strategies to make sure that all Canadians have a real and fair chance to be well and to succeed in our society.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Nunavut for his heartfelt question.The national housing strategy understands the unique and important needs of Canadians living in the north. That is why the national housing strategy is investing $240 million in Nunavut alone to provide 3,000 families in Nunavut with a safe and affordable place to call home. That is why our first budget invested $80 million in Nunavut alone, an additional $80 million for the families there. That is why we are going to work with other governments to make sure that every family in Nunavut is included and has a safe and affordable place to call home.