House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2019, with 47% of the vote.
Child Care December 7th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I would like to read some quotes from a parent. The first states:
I have two children they are 4 and 8 years old...The $100 a month will go a long way in our single income family.
The second states:
You can be assured that this money will benefit my children's social and physical well being. Believe me beer and popcorn are not on the menu.
We offered the universal child care benefit to Canadians and they voted for it. We will not let the Liberals or the NDP take it away.
Homelessness December 7th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, we are very concerned about the situation with the homeless. That is why we extended the national homelessness initiative and that is why we added $37 million to it.
Actions do speak louder than words. When it comes to defending the needs of the vulnerable in our society, let us be aware that it was the NDP that voted against our taking 650,000 low income Canadians off the tax rolls. The NDP voted against increasing the child disability benefit. The NDP voted against cutting the GST. Now the NDP wants to take away the universal child benefit. Actions do speak louder than words.
Pensions December 7th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, unfortunately Statistics Canada does take a retroactive look, but fortunately the adjustment was very small and that adjustment is being incorporated with the regular updates to OAS and the GIS.
Violence against Women December 6th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I really do not understand why the hon. member keeps trying to scaremonger people about the situation. The facts of the situation are that we extended the national homelessness initiative with funding right through March 31, 2007. Not only that, but we also added to that $37 million in August. That is $37 million that the previous government did not see fit to spend on this issue.
Government Programs December 5th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, some time ago we committed to Canadians to do a complete review of all of our programs to ensure their tax dollars were being spent wisely. In going through that process, we discovered in a wide range of programs that the previous government had been spending money very unwisely and irresponsibly.
We will be going forward with programs that will provide direct benefits to the people for whom it is intended, such as students and workers, not for our cronies.
Human Resources and Social Development December 5th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, we all know that unfortunately there are those in our society who do not make enough money to provide themselves with a healthy and safe living, which is why the Minister of Finance in his 2006 budget took so many steps to help both the poor and the working poor, including his workers' incentive tax benefit, including lowering taxes for all Canadians and including taking over 600,000 people completely off the federal tax rolls.
Older Workers December 5th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, right now across this country we are experiencing severe labour shortages. Employers are screaming for new employees. Whenever someone is displaced, we want to help them to get back into the workforce. Unlike the Bloc that would like to pay them to stay at home and sit there and worry about their futures, we want these people to become productive parts of society once again for their own good and for the sake of the country.
Older Workers December 5th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, we brought in several programs to assist those who have lost their jobs beyond their control, who have found themselves unfortunately displaced. One is, as the Bloc had been requesting, the pilot program for older workers, where we work with the provinces to help people who have found themselves displaced prepare for new jobs and how to apply for them.
Child Care December 4th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, Canada's new government recognizes that different families have different needs. We do not support a one size fits all child care approach, as the previous government did. We believe that each family should have choice and access to choice in child care that meets their needs.
Why do the Liberals want to take that money, those resources, away from parents right before Christmas?
Child Care December 4th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, we are right on schedule to introduce our incentives to encourage new child care spaces, as we promised, on April 1 of next year.
When we talk about turning back the clock, the real question is why the Liberals want to take away the $100 a month in child care benefits that we delivered to Canadian families.