Madam Speaker, at the beginning of his speech, the member for Broadview—Greenwood said that it was up to the government to defend society's weakest members, those without a voice.
He said that over 12,000 families in Toronto were forced to live in motel rooms. Last summer on Toronto's Yonge Street it was impossible to walk 30 metres without running into one or two homeless people begging for money.
Since the Liberal Party to which the member for Broadview—Greenwood belongs took office in 1993, this number has steadily risen. The member said he wanted to defend the homeless, the neediest members of society, those who do not have a voice. Yet his government has slashed provincial transfer payments for health, education and social services by $42 billion. Obviously, the provinces made cuts in turn, with the result that these people must beg for money to provide for their daily needs, or live in motels.
It is easy for the member to say, and I quote “As we know, most of those people living on the streets in sleeping bags are there more through a mental health condition than anything else”. I would agree that some of them have mental health problems, but I would not go so far as to say that all the homeless are so afflicted.
The current federal government, his government, a Liberal government, has slashed the funding available for the neediest members of society. One example is employment insurance. There was a time when 92% of those who paid EI premiums qualified for benefits. Today, four years after the EI reform, a little over 40% of those who pay premiums qualify; 60% are paying into the plan for nothing.
I wonder whether my colleague, the member for Broadview—Greenwood, would urge his colleagues, the ministers in various departments, to have cabinet amend various pieces of legislation so that the first scenario in his speech would hold, and more importantly, be respected, so that it would not just be idle talk to impress the voters.