Madam Speaker, the hon. member for Québec has introduced an interesting bill aimed at putting into place under the auspices of the auditor general a poverty commissioner who would report directly to parliament annually.
The commissioner's task would be to analyze the causes and effects of poverty in Canada, to evaluate the effectiveness of federal measures to reduce poverty and to advise on measures that could be taken to reduce or eliminate poverty.
We should recognize that this function would not be at all in keeping with the mandate of the auditor general. For one thing, the task would confer an advocacy role on the office, which conflicts with the requirement for the auditor general to remain completely objective.
In fact, the Government of Canada has already in place what amounts to a de facto poverty commissioner. Some 30 years ago, in 1969, the federal government established the National Council of Welfare. Since then the council has published regular poverty profiles and further advises the Minister of Human Resources Development on matters of concern to low income Canadians. Unlike the proposed poverty commissioner, the National Council of Welfare enjoys and activates its advocacy role.
Let me assure the House, however, that the Government of Canada shares the hon. member's concerns for the poor. Much of the agenda of the government has been directed at creating the economic conditions and building a social safety net that protects all Canadians. The government has recognized from the beginning that an effective social safety net must be built on strong fiscal management and a sound economy. In the final analysis, the best way to reduce poverty is through a strong economy delivering opportunities to all Canadians.
In addition, the Government of Canada has been taking direct action to strengthen the social safety net and thus reduce poverty. The 1999 budget increased cash transfers for all provinces over the next five years, including $11.5 billion for health care and $5 billion in equalization payments. As well, $850 million was invested in the national child benefit in 1997. A subsequent $850 million in increases announced in 1998 by the federal government will provide substantial support to low income families with children. Moreover the government is committed to a third significant increase in July 2001.
Our employment programs help groups such as people with disabilities, youth, Canadians in areas of high unemployment and people who want to go back to school to get more skills. Aboriginal people have access to a number of programs, including help to increase their education. Centres are being created to reach out to street youth to provide support and counselling. The aboriginal human resource development strategy has a new urban component to focus on the unemployment of and training needs of aboriginal people in urban areas.
These initiatives and the issues they were designed to address serve to illustrate a point that is pertinent to the discussion of Bill C-203. We have to remember that poverty is a multi-jurisdictional issue. It is painted in many different colours across the country and varies over time.
Many initiatives of many governments impact on the issue of poverty. We must remember that the federal government does not hold all the levers of social policy. We share them with provincial and territorial governments. That is why a concerted co-operative effort of all the players is required to mount an effective campaign to reduce poverty across the nation.
The national child benefit is one example of a joint effort by the federal, provincial and territorial governments to support families and reduce child poverty. By July 2000 the federal government will have increased the Canada child tax benefit to $1.7 billion and, for their part, our partners in the provinces and territories are investing in complementary programs and services.
Yet another example of effective co-operation is the strategy that has been developed concerning Canadians with disabilities, an issue that is also related to poverty. All governments came together to release a document called “In Unison: A Canadian Approach to Disability Issues”. It establishes a blueprint for full citizenship for people with disabilities. It will focus long term policy development on three interrelated building blocks: disability support, employment and income.
I cite these initiatives to illustrate the point that in a multi-jurisdictional society like Canada poverty is an issue that must be dealt with through a partnership such as the social union. Poverty is a concern to all levels of government, as well it should be, but no one government acting alone can be expected to succeed in eliminating it.
I believe that the introduction of the bill has served a useful purpose in focusing the attention of the House, and we hope the Canadian public, on the subject of poverty. Let us hope it will serve to hurry the development of transjurisdictional policies and strategies to achieve our common goal of eliminating poverty across the country.
