Mr. Speaker, this week Canada is celebrating National Family Week to renew our commitment to strong, healthy and happy families.
The family is the basic unit of humanity, without which society as we know it would cease to exist. Family means children, the guardians of our future. Family means unselfishly putting the interests of our children ahead of our own, and family means providing care, support and love to each other for life.
Strong families are less likely to depend on social assistance, less likely to have children living in poverty, less likely to become chronic users of health care and less likely to run afoul of the laws of Canada.
In brief, strong families mean a strong country. If the family is strong, the deficit would be gone and children would have the first call on the resources of the nation.
In this National Family Week my prayer is that all families find the fortitude they need to stay strong, healthy and happy.