Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to respond today on the motion from the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley. I will be sharing my time with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour and for Western Economic Diversification.
The most effective approach to raising the incomes of Canadians and their families is by creating jobs and economic growth. The facts support it and the results show it. John Chambers, the CEO of technology giant Cisco Systems, just said last year, “The easiest place in the world to do business is Canada. Their prime minister gets it. They make it easy for me to invest and do acquisitions there; they have a great education program and they have a great immigration policy.”
Through economic action plan 2014, our government has set out a plan for safeguarding Canada's economy by helping Canadians get the information, skills, and experience they need for the jobs of today and tomorrow. The number of Canadians living below the low-income cut-off is now at its lowest level ever. As a result of our government's actions, today the Canadian economy is remarkably strong, setting the conditions for Canadians and their families to succeed and enjoy a high quality of life.
According to the Bloomberg News, Canada is the best country in the G20 for business. Canada also leads the G7 for tax competitiveness. The winner: Canadians from all walks of life. The average Canadian family pays $3,200 less in tax each year under our government. According to a recent PBO report, it is the low-middle-income Canadians who are benefiting the most from our tax cuts.
There is more good news. Canada now leads the G7 in job creation, with over a million net new jobs created since July 2009. There are over 1.4 million fewer Canadians living in poverty under our government than under previous governments. We have one of the strongest fiscal positions in the industrialized world. We are getting our fiscal house in order and we are going to balance the federal budget by 2015. With the help of Canadians, we will continue to build on our successes and focus on the drivers of growth and job creation—innovation, investment, education, skills, and communities—underpinned by our commitment to lower taxes and return to a balanced budget in 2015.
However, while we as Canadians have many reasons to be proud of our country, we must also recognize that there is much more work to be done. Our government recognizes that there are often challenges for under-represented groups in obtaining the support they require for jobs and growth. Those groups include persons with disabilities, aboriginal peoples, and youth. Encouraging their participation in the job market continues to be an important priority for us. As a parliamentarian, I have advocated strongly for reforms and improvements to help more Canadians with disabilities find employment.
This is important not only to promote their social inclusion and improve their quality of life; it is also important because we know that people with disabilities actually form one of the largest untapped talent pools in all of Canada. There are approximately 800,000 working-age Canadians with disabilities who are readily employable and have yet to find a job. Almost half of them have a post-secondary education, so it is clear that their education, skills, and talents are not being maximized, nor are these individuals getting a fair chance to find fulfilling careers. Eliminating the stigmas and removing barriers is key to seeing Canadians with disabilities succeed.
As a matter of fact, no government has done more than this government to support Canadians with disabilities. That is in large part due to the late minister of finance, the Hon. Jim Flaherty.
Former Minister Flaherty was a major supporter of my recent motion calling for reforms to help people with disabilities find work, and he personally spearheaded real, concrete action in this policy area. Last year, for example, we announced a $2 million investment to support the creation of a Canadian employers' disability forum. Established by Canadian business leaders under the name “Canadian Business SenseAbility”, the forum will facilitate education, training, and the sharing of resources and best practices among Canadian businesses. We also made permanent the enabling accessibility fund and announced $40 million in ongoing funding for the opportunities fund in 2013.
These measures create more job opportunities and encourage accessibility for persons with disabilities.
Last year, we extended the labour market agreements for persons with disabilities. We are introducing a new generation of agreements with the provinces and territories this year. Our goal is to better meet the employment needs of businesses and the employment prospects of persons with disabilities. To further ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the labour force, our 2014 budget proposed to connect Canadians with disabilities with jobs by providing $15 million over three years to the Canadian Association for Community Living's ready, willing and able initiative.
Our government is also providing $11.4 million over four years for the expansion of vocational training for programs for persons with autism spectrum disorder.
There is indeed more work to be done. Aboriginal persons—