Mr. Chair, this is a pretty open-ended question, but, yes, of course they have, in a great many of ways, right across the country for Canadians from all walks of life.
House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 43% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Mr. Chair, this is a pretty open-ended question, but, yes, of course they have, in a great many of ways, right across the country for Canadians from all walks of life.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Mr. Chair, we have taken many actions and initiated many programs to help summer students, including job matching, incentives for apprenticeships, and student loans. Student loan programs have been significantly enhanced in our budget, and we will continue to work on behalf of students and youth to maximize their employment opportunities.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Mr. Chair, it is, of course, important for us to run ads when people watch them. That is how we determine it. We leave it to experts to decide where those ads should run to get the maximum viewership.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
I do not have that detail at this time, Mr. Chair.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Mr. Chair, the amount that I gave, $7.5 million, was for this year. The previous year was $11 million. The amount that I gave the member is the amount so far this year.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Mr. Chair, I will have to get back to the hon. member with the answer to that specific question about the Department of Finance.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Mr. Chair, the answer is $7.5 million.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
As I said, Mr. Chair, it is important that Canadians understand what the benefits are. There are over 200,000 Canadian families who are not aware that they are entitled to receive UCCB payments. If they do not register for them, they will not get them, so we want to communicate that, as one example.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Mr. Chair, it is the responsibility of the government to communicate with Canadians on important programs and services that are available to them. We want to ensure that all Canadians are aware of the measures that are putting more money back in their pockets, including the enhanced universal child care benefit, the family tax plan, the recently expanded TFSA, which is used by over—
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Mr. Chair, I thank the member for North Vancouver, my dedicated parliamentary secretary, for his invaluable assistance in developing the budget and for that pertinent question.
I have talked about the importance of taking relentless action to create jobs, but we can never forget whose jobs they are. They are our friends', our neighbours', and our family members' jobs. Families are the very bedrock of our nation.
Helping starts with philosophy. Canadians deserve to keep more of their hard-earned dollars, so we have done everything in our power to keep more in their pockets, right where it belongs. This year, Canadian families and individuals will receive $37 billion in tax relief and increased benefits as a result of actions taken since 2006. For example, a typical two-earner family of four will receive tax relief and increased benefits of up to $6,600 this year. That is thanks to measures like the new family tax cut, the universal child care benefit, and cutting the GST.
In economic action plan 2015, we will nearly double the annual contribution to tax-free savings accounts, from $5,500 to $10,000. Individuals with annual incomes of less than $80,000 accounted for more than 80% of all TFSA holders in 2013. Some 60% of those who maxed out their TFSA plans had incomes of less than $60,000. TFSAs benefit the low and middle-income Canadians who need them most.
The budget will also introduce a new, permanent, non-refundable home accessibility tax credit. It will provide up to $1,500 in tax relief per year to help make homes safer and more accessible for seniors and the disabled so that they can safely stay longer in their own homes.
All of these measures, investments, tax cuts, and these strong actions to build jobs and growth are all made possible by a balanced budget. A fiscally balanced budgets permits a socially balanced budget.
Everything is possible with a balanced budget. A financially balanced budget leads to a socially balanced budget. Fiscal responsibility gives us more ways to take action and to lower taxes for hardworking families.
To protect our top credit rating, to grow social programs, to withstand the unexpected and unavoidable shocks to the system, to avoid saddling our children with our debt, empowers us as we work to create jobs.
Let me end as I began, with resolve. Under the strong leadership of our Prime Minister, our resolve is ironclad. We will continue to take relentless action to make this great country even greater, to build prosperity today and tomorrow, the kind of prosperity that our children and grandchildren can rely on.
Economic action plan 2015 is our road map forward. Through it, we will continue down our Conservative course, the road that is working well for all Canadians. I look forward to talking more about that road map tonight.