Madam Speaker, children are our greatest wealth. Each of them has different interests, abilities and goals. Motion No. 78 highlights the wealth that our children represent.
For those listening to us now, I would like to make a small clarification concerning the content of the motion tabled by the hon. member for Edmonton—Wetaskiwin. Essentially, the motion asks that Canada recognize its own commitments as a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It also asks that Canada recognize that approximately 50% of children with disabilities across the world are estimated to be out of school and that they were 49% more likely to have never attended school. Finally, the motion asks Canada to spend money on education, domestically or internationally, in order to ensure the maximum inclusion of people with disabilities, including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
I would also like to mention that primary and secondary education is not within the federal government's jurisdiction, but rather within that of the governments of Quebec and the Canadian provinces. Moreover, Quebec has had a special education policy since 1999. I will return to this later.
I can see in this motion the dignity and desire for fairness that drives the member for Edmonton—Wetaskiwin. To illustrate the merits of this motion, I will provide a few figures to demonstrate the inequity and inequality people with disabilities have to face on a daily basis. I also have a caveat about the Canadian aspect of the motion. I will provide some examples of federal missteps when it comes to Canada's rights abroad.
Having a child is a treasure, as I said at the outset. When people find out that their child will live with a disability, that is an added weight on their shoulders. Some parents find out at birth or even beforehand. Others find out later either because the child has an invisible disability or because there was an accident or an illness.
My colleagues will forgive me for becoming emotional. I was a special education teacher, and while I am talking about these children, I am thinking about my students. I am thinking of Vicky, who was born healthy, bright and full of life. She was what some people would call a normal child. She was eventually diagnosed with brain cancer twice. Vicky stopped growing very early on. Even in high school, she was a tiny, petite girl. She was a spirited little devil, and the only way I could get Vicky to learn something, to get it into her head so she could memorize it, was to turn everything into a game or a joke. It worked.
That is what special education is all about. We need to treat children with disabilities in a way that enables them to succeed. We have to adapt our teaching and our schools to what they are going through and meet them where they are. If Vicky is watching, I salute her.
At the same time, I am thinking of Alexandre, who hated my jokes. He thought they were really bad. I thank Vicky for restoring my faith in my jokes. I have several examples. I could talk about Steven, a child with multiple disabilities who will never learn to read. He is physically unable to show that he understands what we are trying to teach him.
At the time, I was a vice-principal and I wanted to see what was happening with special education, to reacquaint myself with the reality on the ground. When Steven saw me coming, he smiled because he knew that he could go to the computer and that we were going to play a computer game together where he could show me letters and figures. It was his way of showing that he understood, despite his disabilities.
We have that opportunity because we live in a privileged, industrialized country. It is not an opportunity that children in every country have. No, the system in Quebec is not perfect, but there are reasons for that. It takes health care specialists to diagnose a child. It takes special education teachers, speech pathologists and occupational therapists to help these children. However, after 30 years of cuts to health transfers, there are fewer and fewer of these specialists in the public sector and people are forced to turn to the private sector.
Although a child with a disability is a blessing, raising them can be a burden on poor families. These families do not have any money or insurance and they are left sitting on a waiting list that I will refrain from describing here. The federal government has not been sending health transfers, or has been sending only a half or a third of the amount for over 30 years, and parents are the ones who are paying the price. At some point, these children may not get the care they need. By signing the convention, Canada committed to ensuring that children with disabilities are included in society, not excluded. When a provincial government is forced to make cuts to health care to the point where services are compromised, children with disabilities are the ones who suffer the most. At some point, that government needs to make cuts in another area, and then cut its second-largest budget.
The second-largest budget item is education. That is how children with special needs end up in classrooms too crowded for their needs, without the support they require. No specialized educators are there to help the teacher. They have no special education teachers, speech therapists or occupational therapists. Yes, schools need them too. Sometimes all that is needed is a chair lift to help a child get to the washroom. When children in wheelchairs grow into teenagers, they can be six foot four or six foot five. Thanks to widespread budget cuts, there may not even be wheelchairs that fit them. These children's dignity is at stake. Canada has to address this too.
It is hard to change mindsets around the world. However, if we do not act now, mindsets will never change anywhere. We will miss opportunities to have young people like Vicky, who transitioned out of special education and into a regular classroom. She earned her high school diploma. She finished her studies because she was accepted, assisted and supported throughout her journey. Steven, who I was talking about earlier, is able to do simple tasks with a bit of support. Now cuts are being made everywhere. Governments are not investing in our own young people. Having a disability is no reason to be cast aside. Gone are the days of ancient Greece, where children would be cast off if they were missing the end of their finger or leg. There are artists across Canada who are living proof that having a disability is not the end of the world.
This motion is important because, as I have often said in the House, every time we help the smallest among us, we show just how big we are as a society. Every time Canada cuts health transfers, which forces provincial governments to cut funding for education and services to the public, we show just how small we are.
The smallest among us are our strength. Together with them, by giving them the training, education and support they deserve, we can become a great society and, I hope, a better world internationally.
