Kellie Leitch

[Poverty, September 27th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased that the hon. member for Nanaimo—Cowichan has given me this opportunity to explain the progress our government has made.

While Canada is emerging from one of the most fragile economic times we have seen since the Great Depression, Canada's economic recovery is leading the G7 countries.

The targeted measures in the first phase of our economic action plan have contributed to creating the favourable conditions for this recovery, but that is not to say that the economic problems other countries are facing will not have repercussions on our own country.

The recovery remains fragile.

The best protection against poverty is a strong economy and a strong labour market. That is why jobs and the economy will continue to be our first priority. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Canada has created 600,000 net new jobs since the height of the economic downturn and 300,000 jobs are protected through work-sharing agreements.

Despite the opinion expressed by my hon. colleague, no one here is unaware of the reality of poverty. Compassion has nothing to do with political allegiances. We all want the best for our fellow Canadians.

We are investing in programs to promote growth and job creation, programs like the one time hiring credit for small businesses and programs for Canadian workers who have been laid off, like the targeted initiative for older workers, which has helped close to 16,000 people in the most vulnerable communities.

We are investing in programs for Canadian families. We provide over $14 billion per year in benefits to families with children.

Our government is investing in programs for our seniors who have worked hard to build our country. Budget 2011 increased the guaranteed income supplement for seniors with little or no income. This will be a benefit for more than 680,000 seniors.

We are investing in programs for caregivers. We estimated that more than 500,000 caregivers will benefit from the family caregiver tax credit.

We are investing in programs for the working poor. We have provided over $1 billion per year in the working income tax benefit, which helps to ensure low income families are finally better off when they have a job.

We are investing in programs that promote education and skills training because that is the key to economic independence and prosperity for everyone.

We have also invested in apprenticeships and the trades. As of today, we have issued more than 280,000 apprenticeship grants for college and university students through the Canada student loans and grants program and the adults for low literacy who want to acquire the essential skills they need to improve their future prospects.

I want to stress that the risks to our financial stability are too great for us to maintain the status quo. We are looking for ways to harmonize these investments with a balanced budget, without imposing a tax hike on hard-working Canadians.

[Government Grants, September 27th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, no government has done more for Canadians with disabilities than our Conservative government. Their full participation in our economy and communities is vital to our country's success. Supporting Canadians of all abilities through the economic action plan helped create opportunities for people who otherwise would not have had them.

We are very proud of this program and, to date, we have supported over 600 worthy community-based projects across the country. Budget 2010 provided an additional $45 million over the next three years and will expand this program for mid-sized projects. We are doing what we need to do for Canadians with disabilities.

[Service Canada, September 26th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians gave our government a strong mandate to complete Canada's economic recovery and return to balanced budgets. Improving the way we deliver EI services to Canadians by modernizing is one way in which we will accomplish that goal. There are no Service Canada offices closing and no impact on in-person services offered. At this time it is premature to speculate on any specific impacts to any employees.

Our government is committed to effective and efficient use of taxpayers' hard-earned dollars.

[Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, September 23rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to express my support for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, a cause that is very important to me personally.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among Canadian women, and many of us have been touched by this devastating disease. Personally, my mother Lynne lost her battle with breast cancer in 1989 and this is one of the reasons I am an ardent supporter of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

I was recently joined by over 100 volunteers, including Wayne Noble, Terry Geddes and mayors Linda Collins and Ken Ferguson, at a golf tournament to support the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

I would like to take this time to thank Jen Nichol, an ardent organizer for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

As a doctor, I am very aware of the fantastic work being done by the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

It provides support for high-quality research in all areas, including education and prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment.

As October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, I am proud to stand in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. I ask my colleagues to participate in the Run for the Cure on October 2.

[September 19th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada remains active in addressing elder abuse through the new horizons for seniors program which helps older Canadians use their leadership skills and energy to benefit communities across Canada. Budget 2010 proposed over $10 million over two years to increase funding to the new horizons program for seniors.

In June 2011, the government launched a call for proposals under the recently enhanced new horizons program with elder abuse awareness included in the funding objectives.

As members of the House can see, the type of programming confirms the Government of Canada's ongoing commitment to combat elder abuse.

The recent throne speech also proposed tougher sentences for those who abuse seniors.

Canadian seniors have worked hard to build our country and our government is committed to supporting those seniors by combatting elder abuse in all its forms. Having underscored all of these actions, I believe our record speaks for itself.

[September 19th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I am here today to outline all the actions the Government of Canada has taken to combat elder abuse.

I appreciate the question by the hon. member for London—Fanshawe as it has provided me with an opportunity to raise awareness of this serious issue.

Members of the House surely know that elder abuse takes many different forms, among them financial exploitation, physical and mental abuse, and neglect. It is estimated that 4% to 10% of older adults in Canada will experience one or more forms of abuse at some point in time in their senior years.

The Government of Canada has been very active on this issue of elder abuse. The federal elder abuse initiative, launched as part of budget 2008, took a focused federal approach to combatting this problem. It did so by raising awareness and developing resource materials for front-line professionals who provide support and services to seniors.

The Government of Canada invested $13 million over three years in support of this initiative.

The cornerstone of the federal elder abuse initiative was a national awareness campaign called “Elder Abuse - It's Time To Face The Reality”. This campaign, launched in June 2009 and which ran again in October 2010, used television, print and the Internet to convey its powerful message.

This groundbreaking advertising campaign helped Canadians understand what elder abuse is and provided information on these issues.

The campaign was far-reaching.

Based on the results of a post-campaign survey, the advertisements left audiences with a strong impression and the public became more aware of the issues of elder abuse. Since the beginning of the campaign, more than 80,000 visits have been made to the elder abuse awareness Internet page at seniors.gc.ca. Several thousand calls have been received and more than 100,000 resource documents have been sent to Canadians.

One of the greatest accomplishments of the initiative has been the robust legacy of information and resources that is now available to Canadians through seniors.gc.ca and at 1-800-O-Canada and Service Canada centres across the country. Through public opinion research, we have confirmed that we have successfully raised awareness on elder abuse.

The results from a 2010 survey commissioned by Justice Canada on awareness and perceptions of elder abuse highlight the success of the awareness campaign. The report found that elder abuse awareness had increased by 11 percentage points since 2009 and that 9 out of 10 Canadians or 93% said that they were aware of the term "elder abuse". These results speak for themselves demonstrating that this initiative has successfully fulfilled its mandate during its three-year mission.

While the initiative has come to a close, the Government of Canada remains committed to combatting elder abuse and building on the foundation created by the federal elder abuse initiative.

[September 19th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned before, we are very much focused on this subject. We introduced the working income tax benefit in 2007 to help ensure that more low income families are financially better off as a result of getting a job.

In budget 2009, the tax benefit was enhanced by $580 million, effectively doubling the initial investment to provide further support to working families and to other Canadians.

In 2011, approximately 1.5 million working Canadian families are expected to benefit from the working income tax benefit.

We also extended work sharing agreements to keep Canadians working by up to 26 weeks to a maximum of 78 weeks.

We are seeing the results of these investments. In the first eight months of 2011, employment increased by 194,400. This is good news for Canadians and Canadian families.

Under budget 2011, we provided additional funding to make available an extension of up to 16 weeks for active or recently terminated work sharing agreements to be phased out by October 2011.

The family is the building block of our society. Our priority--

[September 19th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Nanaimo—Cowichan for raising the issue of children and poverty in Canada.

From the outset, I will say that I am as committed as anyone in the House to seeing a decrease in child poverty in Canada and I am confident that we are on the right path toward a steady decline in child poverty.

Our economic action plan has been there to fight poverty. Investments made by our government through the economic action plan, including temporary enhancements to employment insurance as well as permanent increases in child benefits and programs such as the working income tax benefit have prevented many more Canadian families from falling into a low income bracket.

We believe that the family is the building block of society and that one of the most important investments we can make as a country is to help families with the costs of raising their children.

Our government provides over $14 billion annually in benefits for families with children through the universal child care benefit, the Canada child tax benefit, including the national child benefit supplement for low income families, and through the child tax credit.

Since 2006, our government has made significant investments in benefits for families with children.

In 2006, we introduced the universal child care benefit, which pays $100 per month to all families with children under the age of six to help them with the costs of caring for their children. The UCCB alone has lifted approximately 24,000 families with over 55,000 children out of low income circumstances.

In 2007, we introduced the child tax credit, which provides tax relief to families and parents in recognition of the additional costs associated with raising children. It provides a maximum tax value of over $300 in tax relief to more than three million Canadian families with children.

In budget 2009, we increased the amount that families with children can earn before benefits under the Canada child tax benefit, including the national child benefit supplement, thereby providing increased support for low and modest income families with children.

The national child benefit supplement has been successful in reducing the incidence of families with children living in low income and in reducing the severity of low income for those families who continue to live below the low income threshold.

In budget 2010, we reiterated our commitment to giving Canadian parents choices in child care. We improved the taxation of the universal child care benefit to ensure that single parent families are treated fairly. We enhanced the delivery of child benefits for parents with joint custody.

In addition, we have introduced a series of tax measures to better recognize other expenses, such as the child fitness tax credit and the children's arts tax credit included in budget 2011.

One of the best ways out of poverty is to help Canadian workers gain skills that lead to employment. Our government's approach to reducing poverty emphasizes giving Canadians the skills and opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency while providing targeted support for those facing particular barriers.

[Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act, June 25th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to the member's comments talking about the future and really that distant future. I am actually a surgeon by training and this bill does not need the three, four or five days of labour; it needs a C-section. We need to move rapidly and ensure that we do things for Canadians and for Canadian businesses today.

Based on a few of my concerns from things that were raised earlier, I wonder whether the members opposite read the Bill C-6 clauses with regard to wage increases as outlined in the bill in clause 15. We are here supporting our strong, stable national majority government and my rural postal workers would like to know whether the member will agree that there are increases outlined in Bill C-6, clause 15.

[Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act, June 25th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, I do take issue with what the member had to say and I want to be very clear. The Minister of Labour and this government are acting in the public's interest on the Canadian economy and for Canadians to get mail delivery restored.

There were a couple of questions that have been raised with respect to Bill C-6. This member raised them and some others throughout the morning have raised them.

With respect to pensions, I encourage the member opposite to take a look at subsection 11(2)(a):

(a) that the solvency ratio of the pension plan must not decline as a direct result of the new collective agreement;

The fact is that this legislation includes guiding principles to provide direction to the arbitrator that the desire of the government is to see that no increase in the unfunded portion of Canada Post's pension plan moves forward. Our government's desire is to ensure that Canadian taxpayers are not left with the bill for Canada Post's pension plan.

The second issue I raise, and I ask the members to take a look at, is the wage issue as it has been noted with respect to two-tier wages. Again, I would like the member opposite to explain to me exactly where those two-tier wages are. I do not actually recognize them in this legislation.