Mr. Speaker, I am honoured and pleased to rise today to present a petition signed by people all over Vancouver Kingsway and the Lower Mainland. They are very concerned about the welfare of Canada's most vulnerable children. They point out that housing first program funds are one-size-fits-all and fund only the adult individual, with no additional allocation for a parent with children. The amount is set at a rate per adult, which they believe further materially deprives children.
The petitioners point out that many children are excluded from receipt of the Canada child benefit and children's special allowances, as they are in informal care arrangements and their caregivers are ineligible to claim the tax deductions for children and therefore cannot establish eligibility for the monthly payments. They further point out that certain subpopulations of children systematically derive no benefit from the above-mentioned programs.
The petitioners are calling on the government to provide the Canada child benefit and the children's special allowances benefit to all children; to ensure that all children, without discrimination in any form, benefit from special protection measures and assistance; and to recognize that children of parents with addictions or parents who are incarcerated or homeless are in need of special support to enable them to achieve improved life outcomes.