Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to debate the motion of the hon. member for Shefford. I congratulate her for bringing this matter to the House. It is something we are all concerned about and that is the issue of child poverty.
We talked a lot tonight about the issue of inflation and how we need to adjust child tax credits for that. I would like to come at this from a different angle.
It was not that long ago that not all of our legislation, through the income tax system, was totally indexed to the rate of inflation. In fact, we lived in inflationary times. Peoples' wage agreements and various other aspects of their financial lives were tied to the consumer price index.
I suggest that that creates an inflationary spiral. In other words, every time the rate of inflation went up, everybody's income went up, child tax credits went up, everything else went up and it similarly impacted on inflation. I cannot help but impress on the member how devastating that inflationary time we lived in not long ago was to low income families. They are the ones who are less likely to be able to adjust to the dramatic rising costs of living, their rent, food, et cetera.
That is one aspect I want to address on why I oppose the member's motion. I believe that if we move in this specific area of child tax benefits, we will similarly be obligated to do the same thing throughout the whole income tax system. You cannot very well argue that at one point is a necessity and yet at another point it is not.
If you look at it in broad terms you will also see that this would create over $850 million in lost tax revenues. Not only that, it also brings us back into this inflationary economy which will have a tremendous dilatory effect on low income families.
The government is concerned about the issue of child poverty. We did in fact inject $850 million into the envelope of an enhanced child tax benefit system for working income families. As we speak members of both federal and provincial governments are debating the issue of how to deliver this program within provincial envelopes.
I am happy to see that one of the things our government is insisting on is that there be an accountability package that goes with it. In other words, it is not simply money locked into an envelope of a benefit package but there is some way as a country we can measure the success of those programs. In other words, there is some way to measure if child malnutrition has been improved.
These are things that are not so easy to jump up and be in favour of and implement. They take time and effort and dedication.
I am very pleased to be part of a party and a government dedicated to the issue of child poverty, trying to find ways not only to get money out to those families most in need but also to ensure that money gets to those children to alleviate the very problems that some of the members have brought out here today.