Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak to the question from the hon. member for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, a pretty part of Ontario.
Our government remains committed to working with first nations, provincial governments, and other partners to help reduce child poverty and to improve the quality of life for children and families living on reserve. The national child benefit reinvestment initiative is not a statutory program, and this is not a cut of resources to first nations in Ontario. The initiative remains a contribution to reaching the goal of poverty reduction.
The national child benefit reinvestment program in Ontario is allocating $6 million to eligible first nations in the 2014-15 fiscal year to support low-income families and children living on reserve communities. Eligible first nations can apply for this funding through project proposals that address specific initiatives to alleviate child poverty. The community programs that qualify for funding will focus on child care, child nutrition, support for parents, home-to-work transition, and cultural enrichment.
The national child benefit reinvestment program is part of the larger national child benefit initiative, or NCB, and is one of many Government of Canada initiatives aimed at addressing the root causes of poverty. For example, direct income support is provided through the Canada child tax benefit, the national child benefit supplement, and the income assistance program. These are programs that are available to all eligible Canadians, aboriginal and non-aboriginal alike, and place resources and responsibilities in the hands of parents.
Over and above the national child benefit reinvestment program, the Government of Canada continues to invest in programs that address the health, welfare, and opportunities for first nations children and youth in Ontario, including more than $114 million annually to the Government of Ontario for child and family services programs on reserve, which include, first, culturally appropriate programs, such as aboriginal customary care and first-nations specific family support programs, to help families provide healthy environments to prevent children from needing care outside the parental home.
Second is more than $127 million annually to the Government of Ontario and first nations for the Ontario works program, which provides income and employment assistance to help low-income first nations families gain employment skills and become financially independent.
Third is more than $5.6 million to support family-violence-prevention program activities. Of this amount, approximately $4.3 million is allocated to support the operations of nine on-reserve women's shelters, and $1.3 million is for family-violence-prevention projects in first nations communities.
Fourth is more than $14.5 million annually for provincially licensed daycares in 52 first nations.
Finally, there is more than $1.1 million in 2014-2015 for the first nations jobs fund to provide employment opportunities for youth aged 18 to 24 on reserve who are also Ontario works recipients.
Reducing child poverty is critical to the future well-being and success of first nations children. Through the national child benefit reinvestment program and other initiatives, our government will continue to work with and for first nations children and families on reserve in Ontario and across Canada.