Mr. Speaker, after a year and a half of talking about a national children's agenda, the federal government has released a brightly packaged piece that talks a lot about vision but demonstrates very little. In fact, this supposed blueprint for children is only a starting point for public consultation, which in turn will lead to a vision document in the fall, which may or may not lead to concrete action a year from now.
Let us put things in perspective. In the time it has taken for the federal government to come up with this discussion paper, thousands more children have slipped below the poverty line. Why? Because Canada now has the dubious distinction of having cut more on social programs than any other G-7 nation.
Poor Canadians are suffering because the federal budget has directed not one single federal dollar to families on social assistance since 1985 and because of broken promises on a national child care program.
Canadian children need action, not glossy discussion papers. I call on the government to fast track this process to ensure that it is children who benefit, not Liberal policy wonks and pollsters.