Mr. Speaker, I was also fortunate to serve in the Canadian Forces. As an officer, I was responsible for many of the people who worked for me who came to me asking for my assistance with their taxes and often asking for help with their finances. That is what the military family does.
Certainly, for the tax credits, they had to have spent a certain amount of money on sports programs, art programs, dance programs. For those families that do not have money to put food on their table, they do not have the money to invest in those sports programs and those dance programs. Therefore, giving them a tax credit and benefit on their taxes for the money that they spent to offset it is of no value to them.
These families needed an opportunity to have money in their pockets right from day one through lower taxes, as we have lowered the middle-class taxes, and through a child benefit that is directed at them, based on their income.
A monthly cheque is going to overwhelmingly provide additional support to those families in Canada with children who absolutely need it the most.