Mr. Speaker, the recent federal budget does very little to eliminate child poverty. There is nothing in it to alleviate the problem, except for a measure that will only come into effect in July 1999.
The $425 million earmarked for children through the child tax benefit program are a measly contribution to help children out of poverty, after this same government plunged their parents into it.
The Liberal government is far from fulfilling the commitment made in a motion adopted unanimously by this House on November 24, 1989, to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000.
The Liberal government has made its choices. With its millennium foundation, it opted for partisan visibility, instead of helping children get a head start in life. It is a shame.