Mr. Speaker, on April 14 the finance minister had the audacity to tell the House that he was “delighted to say that the number of children living in poor or low income families has declined by 100,000”.
A day later, the Caledon Institute reported the real facts which showed that cuts to UI and welfare offset any employment gains by women living in poverty in the last year. Indeed, transfer payments to the poorest families fell by 3% in 1997. The poverty rate has not improved in 20 years. The poverty rate for families headed by persons under 25 has doubled from 20.9% in 1980 to 43.6% in 1997.
The evidence is very clear. The gap between the rich and the poor is growing. It is the Liberal government policies that are to blame.
I would like to tell the finance minister, rather than taking credit for something he did not do, he needs to set real targets to reduce poverty in Canada.