Mr. Speaker, according to figures released by Statistics Canada last week, while wages have practically not increased since 1992, Canadians are paying 15% more in income tax.
This means less money left over at the end of the month to pay for groceries, clothing and housing. As a result, there are 1.5 million children living in poverty in Canada, or 500,000 more than in 1989.
Could the Minister of Finance help Canadian families by increasing the amount of the basic exemption, which would be a direct benefit to low income families and their children?