Thank you very much.
Mr. Dykstra.
Evidence of meeting #15 for Finance in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was poverty.
Evidence of meeting #15 for Finance in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was poverty.
Conservative
Rick Dykstra Conservative St. Catharines, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
William, I have a couple of quick questions for you. One of the significant things you asked for in the last round--there were two things actually--was pension income splitting, which our government delivered on. I don't need your comments on that. You guys have been very generous in your compliments to the government for finally acting on that issue. It was recommended almost 40 years ago.
The second one is the Mental Health Commission that the government announced in 2007. The Prime Minister just announced earlier this month the folks who are going to be sitting on that panel. It's a significant investment of over $50 million over five years to address mental health issues in the country. I wonder if you could comment on that.
Director, Government Relations, Canada's Association for the Fifty-Plus
This is something that we very much support. In fact, my colleague is a member of one of the committees. We think this is going to make a great difference.
We were talking about what you might call stigma against poor people. There's certainly a great stigma against people who have some kind of mental illness. I know that one of the main priorities of the commission is to try to eliminate that stigma. We very much support what Senator Kirby is doing and what government has done.
I would add that we would hope perhaps the same kind of approach could be adopted towards poverty to remove the stigma that is applied to people in poverty.
Conservative
Rick Dykstra Conservative St. Catharines, ON
Thank you.
Mr. Pacey, one of the announcements in our 2007 budget was Canada's National Trust. I don't know if you're familiar with that or not, but one of the components is based on something that was very successful in the United Kingdom, which we're trying to emulate. It would protect lands and buildings, the national treasures you spoke about. It will be managed and directed by private sector individuals at arm's length from government, so you can actually work on these from more of a private perspective without having the cumbersomeness of government. I wonder if you could quickly comment on that.
President, Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia
I'd be delighted.
We were very pleased to see that in the last budget. The Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia, from its name, is indeed a trust. We own only one building. We are primarily a heritage advocacy group. Managing that one building is a very time-consuming matter.
I think a national or provincial trust, such as ours, can really only look after a small number of buildings. What we're recommending here today in the way of fiscal measures are measures that would protect a large number of buildings. Buildings that would be in private ownership might receive a tax credit of perhaps 20% of the cost of a major rehabilitation. That would then spread the benefits much more widely and protect a much larger number of buildings.
Conservative
Rick Dykstra Conservative St. Catharines, ON
Thank you.
Mr. Vanderklis--and certainly the great folks of Nova Scotia who we're working with and a number of presenters here today--I just wanted to welcome you from my riding of St. Catherines, the constituents. We've both come a long way to be here today.
One of the things you touched on that caught my attention was that you mentioned the question of funding isn't just youth funding. I wonder if you could expand on that a little bit in terms of how you think we could hit a specific program or programs that would indeed fund, in a very practical way, training for aboriginal youth.
President, Aboriginal Youth Council, National Association of Friendship Centres
I'm sorry, could you repeat that?
Conservative
Rick Dykstra Conservative St. Catharines, ON
Your focus in your presentation was about training youth in anticipation of entering the workforce; rather than just setting funding accessible to aboriginal youth, it actually has a stated purpose. I wonder if you could provide for us a couple of examples of where we might be able to do that in the next budget.
President, Aboriginal Youth Council, National Association of Friendship Centres
That is in regard to...?
Conservative
Rick Dykstra Conservative St. Catharines, ON
Some training programs that would be practical, accessible, that would be a focused way of addressing the issues you addressed so well for us today.
President, Aboriginal Youth Council, National Association of Friendship Centres
A prime example would be our youth council. I'm sitting before members of Parliament asking for money, and my experience is two years of college. By putting that into the budget, you're giving youth the opportunity to sit here and speak to members of Parliament.
Last year our organization was the first organization ever to work with the House of Commons for the Forum for Young Canadians. We were the first organization to have a Forum for Young Canadians that is aboriginal-specific. That's the first time in history that's ever happened.
Conservative
Rick Dykstra Conservative St. Catharines, ON
Thanks. I appreciate that.
I have a little bit of time yet, Mr. Chair. I'll try to be quick.
Ms. Nasser, I certainly listened with a great deal of interest. My partner is actually a children's mental health therapist, so over the last 20-some years I've had a pretty good understanding from her perspective on the issues we face, certainly in Niagara, and I have, obviously, a great deal of empathy for that.
One of the requests you made last year was to make a significant investment in social housing and make sure that we invest in tax measures that are aimed specifically at the working poor. We've talked a lot today about the working income tax benefit and the fact that it is a way to address some of the issues that those who make the lower incomes are facing, but actually this assists them to be able to move forward and get over the welfare wall and not always have to rely on assistance. They can move forward and become productive in their own right. We've heard suggestions in the previous presentation about increasing it.
I just want to get your thoughts on the acknowledgement this government had in actually putting it in a budget, finally putting a working income tax benefit in a federal budget.
Executive Director, Nova Scotia Association of Social Workers
Yes, we probably all agree that every little bit helps. These are all steps in the right direction. But it is also important to keep listening, to follow up to see how those changes and the new programs are affecting people and whether they are actually contributing to a decrease in poverty, and to adjust the program as it goes along. We need to realize that it addresses one part of the issue of people living with low incomes, but there are a lot of other issues that need to be addressed.
But yes, definitely, I think we are all willing to acknowledge when a program that has been asked for is actually put in place. That's a step in the right direction.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
We want to thank the witnesses for coming, for their testimonies before committee and for their presentations. We want to also thank our committee for their questions.
With that, I adjourn the meeting.