Mr. Speaker, there is no justification for child poverty in Canada. Among all industrialized countries, only the United States has a worse record than Canada.
In 1993, the red book stated, and I quote: "Since 1984, the Tories have systematically weakened the social support network-Not only have they taken billions of dollars from health care and from programs that support children, seniors and people who have lost their jobs, but they have set us on a path to becoming a polarized society, divided into rich and poor, educated and uneducated, with a shrinking middle class. This is not the kind of country where Canadians want to live in".
This assessment can be applied word for word to the Liberals' performance in the fight against poverty. The situation is even worse than it was before.
If the government seriously wants to do something about poverty instead of making pompous speeches, it should first stop the cuts in social programs and transfer payments to the provinces.