Mr. Speaker, I rise on budget day to express some of the important priorities of the people of Vancouver Kingsway.
We need secure, affordable housing. Having a home is a basic need that makes employment, raising a family and building community possible.
We need accessible quality child care. Young families and single parents need this vital service to fully participate in our economy, and our children need it for sound educational development.
We need better support for our seniors. A well-funded public pension system is the safest and cheapest way to ensure all Canadians can retire in dignity.
We need to protect our environment, the foundation of all economic activity. This is particularly important to young people who want to inherit an earth that can sustain them and future generations.
We need good, permanent, full-time jobs, jobs we can support ourselves on, jobs in which we can raise our families.
These policies are the priorities of all Canadians. I hope the budget presented today addresses them. If so, I will support it. If not, New Democrats will work hard to get—