https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNiXwUtwrGk#action=share
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNiXwUtwrGk#action=share
I was proud to rise in the house this week to support our government’s budget and its implementation. In budget 2016, our government announced the Canada Child Benefit, perhaps the most significant new social program in a generation.
I cannot stress enough the importance of this initiative. By combining the existing child benefits, making it tax-free and adjusting the benefit by income, the new child benefit is already raising some 300,000 children out of poverty. I have already begun to see the impact of this policy first-hand in Don Valley West, particularly in Thorncliffe Park.
The importance of this hit home this week when reading about the third annual snapshot of child well-being in Toronto and the Toronto Star’s spotlight on both Leaside and Thorncliffe Park (https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/11/14/kids-suffer-most-as-toronto-clings-to-title-of-child-poverty-capital.html). While Leaside has a child poverty rate of 4.2%, Thorncliffe Park, just across the way, has a rate of 53%. This article highlighted two stories, Zara, a 4-year old girl in Thorncliffe Park who doesn’t understand why her family cannot afford to put her in both taekwondo and gymnastics. And Sarah and Claire from Leaside who eight years ago started a food drive in her neighbourhood to help provide for those less affluent (http://sarahandclairesfooddrive.com). I applaud the work of Sarah and Claire to help provide for their less fortunate neighbours and raise awareness of this crucial issue. I also hope that the increased income from the Canada Child Benefit is of great help to Zara and her family.
A budget debate is not as much about money as often thought. It is about people and the way we live together in this great country. As we debate the budget implementation in the House of Commons, I will make sure the voices of Zara, Sarah and Claire, and everyone in Don Valley West are heard. Please share this to help spread this story.
Rob Oliphant, M.P.
Don Valley West
