Madam Speaker, congratulations on your appointment. We are pleased to see you. You have been a fixture up there for the last several years and it is always pleasant to have you. Also you always remind me to speak through you and through the Speaker, but somehow in the House we have a habit of looking at each other and forgetting that.
I am thrilled to be back. It is 20 years that I have been here and it is as exciting today to be here and speaking as it was when I was first elected 20 years ago. I continue to enjoy what I do and I am so honoured to be elected again by the constituents of Humber River—Black Creek. It is such an honour and I love them very much and look forward to having a few years to make a difference in their lives.
It is such an honour and a privilege for me to listen to my colleagues, especially the first-time ones. We all came here to make the world a better place and there are lots of opportunities for us to do that. Listening to my fabulous colleague from Etobicoke North and the commitment that she has brought to the House and the work that she has done over her many years is an example for many of the new members to follow. Passion and caring are things that matter and she continues to be re-elected because of the very same things that she commented on. She cares about the people that she represents and continues to fight against the gun violence that many of us in the Toronto region unfortunately have to deal with.
Since we are in the process of changing Speakers, I am going to congratulate our other new Assistant Deputy Speaker. I welcome you to that chair, Madam Speaker. Remember that the first time you sat in that chair was the first time I spoke in this Parliament, so that makes it extra special for me.
I want to thank my husband and family and my staff and all of the volunteers for the tremendous work they did in the last election. We had a great campaign and it was a tribute to each and every one of them. I would be remiss if I did not congratulate each and every member in the House. We all came here for the same reason. We are from different parties, but they are just party labels. We are all here for one reason, to try to push an agenda that makes a difference for all of us and to make sure that we are doing the right things.
Regarding the comments by the member for Edmonton Centre, he talked about his desire to make sure that small business is represented here and so many issues. There are opportunities for him and others to do that work here. I really look forward to working with everyone to advance the agendas that we all care about.
The throne speech is a road map that will guide us to making a better Canada, because it can always be better. We try to bring in policies that are going to affect the residents of Humber River—Black Creek and to give them an idea of what our plans are on this side of the House, and I would hope many of these ideas are shared by the opposition parties so that we can advance these issues together.
We are talking about climate change and what a serious issue it is. The world has now woken up to the fact that climate change is severely eroding our quality of life. It does not matter what part of Canada we come from, whether there are forest fires or floods, it is having a significant impact on the infrastructure of our country as well as the lives of Canadians being driven out of their homes by tremendous fires throughout different parts of Canada. Climate change is a serious issue. Clean air and clean water are the basic fundamentals that I know we all care about and it is critically important that we are investing in this. When we talk about infrastructure and concerns about how we are doing it, we have to make sure that climate change is number one as we move forward.
There are new technologies, as the member for Edmonton Centre mentioned. There are many new technologies coming forward constantly, and it is important that we maximize the opportunity with them to ensure that we are doing everything we can do reduce emissions and improve air quality for Canadians. Our government cares, as do all of the opposition parties, about a cleaner and safer environment for all Canadians.
Cutting taxes is something we all talk about and would like to see happen. If we can do that, we can make the lives of Canadians better. However, in my riding of Humber River—Black Creek, there are a tremendous number of challenges, whether we are talking about small businesses and their desire to advance themselves or about single-earner families struggling to make a living, keep a job and advance their family.
Of course, our Canada child benefit was a tremendous help to thousands and thousands of residents in my riding, as I can tell members after the recent election, when I was knocking on doors and talked with many single mothers. Having that extra money deposited into their bank account at the end of the month allows them to ensure that they have better meals on the table. It is not for frills. It is not put away in a bank account for someone. It literally changes the nutrition that those children get every day. Children are getting better lunches and they are eating better.
All of those things sound simple, but to some of the families that I represent in certain parts of Humber River—Black Creek, there is a real challenge to provide the very best they can within a limited income.
Affordable housing is another major challenge facing Humber River—Black Creek, as it is all across Canada. One gentleman who came to see me gets $1,080 a month in disability, but his rent is $1,000 a month, because it was increased. Dealing with these kinds of issues is extremely difficult. I asked that individual how he managed if he was paying $1,000 and was left with only $80. He said, “I live off of food banks.” Looking at this gentleman, I would never have imagined that he had to live off food banks, but that is the reality.
Really, a lot of what we are trying to do is make a difference in the quality of life of the people we represent and throughout Canada. It is a fairness issue for people to have those opportunities as they continue to move forward, young families in particular. The fact that we have lifted over 300,000 children out of poverty is a tremendous thing. It is important for each and every one of us to carry that on as we move forward, and make sure that families have that money right away. There is also the maternity and parental benefit. A lot of the policies we put forward are about affordability and quality of life.
In the case of seniors, I was thrilled to hear the platform announcement of the increase in OAS by 10% for those over 75. This will be my favourite. I, along with all of my colleagues, will fight to make sure that is a reality. We see that many seniors at 75 years of age have increased expenses, and they find it much harder to manage. They may need additional home care that they have to pay for, for example, so that 10% increase will be a significant help to them and for many of the seniors that I talked to.
Again, it is about trying to make a difference in the quality of life of Canadians.
Madam Speaker, I look forward to seeing you in that chair many times. I congratulate you on your recent election and on achieving this wonderful post as Deputy Speaker.