Mr. Speaker, family matters. Day after day, time after time, our reliance on families makes our successes better and our struggles less severe.
Many families rely on their parents to provide child care, which has become especially important after the Conservatives and New Democrats teamed up to kill the Liberal national child care program. However, the Conservative Minister for Multiculturalism thinks differently. Recently, he called the parents and grandparents of immigrant Canadians a burden. Parents and grandparents are not a burden on our society; they make our lives richer, fuller. Their help around the home helps us be more productive members of Canadian society. Their presence in Canada means that new Canadians no longer have to send money out of the country to support their parents.
The government's view is shameful. Canadians deserve better.