Mr. Speaker, throughout debate, many members in the House spoke about families and people in their ridings who were struggling. People in my riding of Essex are struggling as well. Unfortunately the speech failed to outline plans to fight poverty and reduce inequality in Canada. There is nothing to address the fact that the absence of federal minimum wage leaves far too many Canadians working full time, but still living below the poverty line.
A way to provide direct help to tens of thousands of families is by giving them a raise, by reinstating the $15 an hour federal minimum wage.
Does the member opposite agree that the government needs to take a leadership role for all Canadians and provide direct help to them by giving them a raise through reinstating the federal minimum wage and raising it to $15 an hour, and also to support workers and ensure that minimum wage workers in Canada do not fall below the poverty line?