Sure, I'd be happy to. Actually I have more photos, so I'd be happy to.
Very quickly, in terms of federal support, what I would advocate is that internationally adopted children should have identical legal standing as biological or domestically adopted children.
There are three things that I would hope to propose and recommend to you today. One is to increase the international adoption tax credit to a minimum of $20,000 from the current $10,000. This would more reflect the true cost of international adoption. They range from $20,000 to $50,000, depending on which country you're adopting from and which province you're adopting from.
Ensure that internationally adopted children have the same ability to pass on their Canadian citizenship as biological and domestically adopted children. For instance, we have now both an adopted child and a biological child. Should my biological child go abroad and have their own child or adopt, that child retains Canadian citizenship, whereas if my adopted child goes abroad, he can't pass on his citizenship. As a parent of both, I find it perplexing and concerning.
Third is--I know you've all heard it before--the extension of the EI benefits. As I heard notably before from Mr. Watson, actually I would advocate, instead of extending the parental benefits, that there be a certain set-aside for adoptive parents rather than extending the parental, so make them two separate....
In terms of how this goes, establishing fairness among Canadian parents and children, recognizing the true costs of international adoption to the average family.... I would just as an aside say that the costs of international adoption are prohibitive for a lot of average--as they were termed in the last U.S. election--Joe the plumber families. International adoptions aren't affordable for people. They can't do it, which is very unfortunate.
Citizenship and EI benefits should not be dependent on the location of your child's birth. International adoption is a means of addressing Canada's demographic challenges while ensuring Canadians are brought up in Canadian values.
Thank you very much for your time. I look forward to your questions.