Mr. Speaker, I will start by acknowledging that budget 2021 was presented in the House by Canada's first female Minister of Finance. I congratulate the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance for continuing to break down the barriers faced by women in the workplace. I thank everyone involved in the creation of this budget, including the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, for their hard work to support all communities represented in the House and to create this comprehensive recovery plan for jobs, growth and resilience.
It is hard to know where to start and what to highlight in this extensive plan. Budget 2021 contains something for everyone. It has everything from proposing an early learning and child care plan to extending COVID support to supporting foreign workers.
Over the last few months, I have asked the constituents of Surrey Centre to write to me with their top concerns for our community, which I will highlight today. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to this request. The pile was high.
The top five concerns included affordable housing, support for seniors, the environment, public safety and addressing gun violence, and mental health and addiction care. I am very proud to say that budget 2021 addresses each of these issues and many more that are important to Canadians, especially those in my riding.
I am going to begin at the end of my list because addressing the mental health of Canadians is an all-encompassing issue for which budget 2021 lays out a comprehensive plan to address.
We have seen across the country the impact that the pandemic has had on the mental health and general well-being of Canadians. The budget provides a plan for wide-ranging support that will contribute to the overall well-being of Canadians and is going to be extremely important as we move forward with recovery from the pandemic and with ongoing efforts to create a more equal Canada.
By some estimates, the rates of anxiety and depression in Canada during the pandemic have been some of the highest we have ever seen. We also know that there has been a sharp increase in drug use and overdoses reported in British Columbia and other regions of the country. The loss of jobs, economic decline, isolation and an overall sense of uncertainty have left many Canadians trying to cope the best they can with the grief and loss of loved ones and with losing the way of life we lived only 13 months ago.
The release of the Wellness Together platform has supported millions of Canadians with their mental health. I am sure all of my colleagues in the House can agree that the $62 million proposed for the continuation and expansion of this successful resource is a very important investment as we continue to find ways to support the mental health of Canadians across the country. However, we know that this mental health support needs to come in addition to improving well-being across a broad range of issues for Canadians. That is why I am pleased to see that this budget is using both social and economic factors to address the mental health challenges faced by Canadians.
Social and economic factors like good jobs, the environment, safe and supportive communities, social inclusion, income equality and high-quality health care are highly important to the overall well-being of Canadians. To address the opioid crisis and problematic substance use, the budget is proposing additional support for the substance use and addictions programs that support harm reduction, treatment and prevention at the community level. The budget also proposes working toward a crisis hotline, as well as an extension to funding for a kids helpline. I know this funding would lend significant support to organizations on the ground that are working to reduce drug use in our communities.
Finding and securing affordable housing has been a long-standing challenge for many individuals and families in Surrey. Over the last year, we have seen an increase in housing prices and The Economist has recently said that Canada has the fastest rising housing prices in the G7. That is a concern for many of my constituents who are looking to find affordable housing in a market where the demand exceeds the available supply. Funding for the national housing co-investment fund and the rental construction financing initiative, as well as $612 million to end homelessness, will help Canadians find safe and affordable homes.
The past year has been challenging for seniors across the country, and I have heard from many seniors in my riding throughout the pandemic who are having a tough time. Our government is committed to supporting seniors, and I am receiving some great feedback regarding the support in budget 2021 directed toward seniors, which includes $90 million to help seniors stay in their homes and increasing old age security for pensioners 75 and over. Many of the seniors who reside at Kinsmen Lodge, many of my friends at the Royal Canadian Legion's Whalley branch and countless others will benefit from the additional $500 payment and the 10% increase to OAS for pensioners aged 75 and over, which starts in July 2022.
The urgency to address climate change has only become more apparent as a result of the pandemic, and we know that we must continue to change the way we live and how much we consume in order to slow down global warning. The budget contains a plan to create a centre for innovation and clean energy to scale up clean technologies and help Canadians make their homes greener with retrofits. We have promised to conserve 25% of our lands and oceans by 2025, create jobs in a green economy and reduce pollution, and will provide $5 billion over seven years to the net-zero accelerator. Also, the $56 million in funding proposed for working with countries like the U.S. to create standards for zero-emission vehicle charging and refuelling stations will be beneficial as we expand our access to EV charging stations at community centres and ice rinks, building more green infrastructure for our communities, like those right here in Surrey Centre.
Budget 2021 also includes $101 billion in proposed investments as part of the Government of Canada's growth plan to create good jobs and support a resilient and inclusive recovery. In March, I had the opportunity to host the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness at a round table discussion with organizations in Surrey that work to address and prevent gang violence in the city. They emphasized the need for more funding for local projects that address the particular needs of the community.
As a member of the justice committee, I have learned about the urgent need to address domestic violence and controlling and coercive behaviour. The budget proposes more than $60 million to advance a national action plan to end gender-based violence, $200 million to support gender-based violence organizations and more than $40 million to implement legislation to address gun violence and fight trafficking and smuggling.
A broad-based plan that supports Canadians in all aspects of their lives is what we all need to recover from the pandemic. I believe that this budget lays the groundwork for a comprehensive and inclusive recovery plan for jobs, growth and resilience in Canada.