Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, indeed, I look forward to working with my hon. colleague on this initiative. We both agree that it is unacceptable for children to go to school hungry, and that is why it is in my mandate letter as well as in the mandate letter of the Minister of Agriculture. I look forward to working with her and stakeholders to deliver on this important policy so that we can support our children, so…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to talk about the concrete measures we have taken, such as the Canada child benefit and the child care plan. Today, we joined the Province of Manitoba to announce that we are lowering fees for more than 12,000 more children. That is 12,000 families who will pay less for child care. That is a concrete measure. We are very serious about addressing the issue of cost of li…
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the members opposite, we are actually taking concrete actions to help Canadians with the high cost of living. In fact, in that member's province of New Brunswick, we worked with the provincial government to come to a historic child care agreement last December, which is going to help families in New Brunswick see a 50% reduction in fees this year. That is going to help with the…
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Mr. Speaker, it is exactly why our government has acted, since we were elected in 2015, to bring forward the Canada child benefit, which helps nine out of 10 families. In fact, it has helped lift 435,000 children out of poverty. Let me remind the House that the Conservatives voted against this measure. We know that we need to help families with the high cost of living. With the Canada child benefi…
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Mr. Speaker, as I told my hon. colleague last week when we talked about this issue, I understand that each application represents one person, one family that needs help. That is why resolving this issue is one of my priorities. We also need to understand that there is an increase in applications because of the omicron‑related closures, but we are nevertheless putting more resources in place precis…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to start by saying that this is an issue we take very seriously. We understand how important it is for everyone to get their benefits because EI is there to help Canadians when they need it. We have hired more public servants to meet the increased demand and we will continue to adjust internal resources to ensure that everyone who applies will get their benefits.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for raising this important issue. I really appreciate it. As I said, this is not just about public servants handling fraud cases, although that is important, of course. We are also talking about additional employees hired because of the growing number of claims due to omicron-related closures. I will work with her and all members of the House to resolve this situa…
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we respect Canadians, and we respect that Canadians need help with the high cost of living. Unfortunately, the member for Carleton refers to support for child care as a slush fund for families. That is offensive to families. It is offensive to children, and it is offensive to dealing with the very real high costs of living that Canadians are facing. On this …
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Mr. Speaker, in my former position as the minister of international development, I was very pleased to work with the hon. member and advocates around our country and the world to ensure that Canada was playing its part to protect and support the LGBTQ2+ community around the world. We know there are so many places around the world where it is not safe for people to be who they are and to love who t…
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Mr. Speaker, it is very difficult to take the Conservatives seriously that they care about single parents and children when they voted against the Canada child benefit, which helped lift 400,000 Canadian children out of poverty. It is hard to take them seriously when they campaigned on getting rid of the Canada early learning and child care system. Let me tell members that we are making difference…
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Mr. Speaker, once again, on this side of the House, we understand there is a high cost of living. That is specifically why we are helping hard-working families with the high cost of child care. It is specifically why we are helping hard-working families to access more affordable housing and housing affordability. Unfortunately the members opposite just do not get it and are not proposing anything …
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Mr. Speaker, I would appreciate it if the member for Carleton would apologize to hard-working families for saying that support for child care is akin to a slush fund. On this side of the House—
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for her important advocacy on this issue. Let us recall that it was this government that brought in the Canada child benefit that saw close to 400,000 children lifted out of poverty. Let us recall that it is this government that is committed to bringing forward a national food strategy to ensure that children around this country have access to h…
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Mr. Speaker, who can tell where the Conservatives are these days? On the one hand they say we need to support seniors more, and on the other side they say not to increase the CPP. We are not going to listen to the Conservatives, because when it comes to taking care of seniors and their income security, we are making important investments today for the future. Our government will continue to do tha…
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Mr. Speaker, today, we announced that the ninth province and territory, New Brunswick, signed onto the Canada-wide early learning and child care agreement. This is fantastic news for families in New Brunswick who are going to see a 50% reduction in fees within the first year and getting to $10 a day by year five. We are going to increase the number of spaces by 3,400. Unlike the members opposite, …
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Mr. Speaker, it is a little hard to take the member opposite seriously when he calls a child care agreement a “slush fund”. What we know on this side of the House is that we are going to make investments that will make a difference for families. In fact, we just announced a new child care agreement with New Brunswick today, making it the ninth province and 10th jurisdiction in Canada that will hav…
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Madam Speaker, one thing I will not do and one thing our government will not do is pit different age groups of Canadians against each other. This is exactly why we know that supporting young families through affordable child care is not just good for young families, it is good for the entire economy. It is why we know that increasing old age security and the guaranteed income supplement, again, is…
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Madam Speaker, we recognize that inflation is certainly a challenge that families, indeed all Canadians and almost everyone around the world is grappling with right now. It is important to understand the basic premise around inflation. It is not that this is a uniquely Canadian issue. It is happening right around the world. It is caused by challenges with regard to the supply chain, by rising dema…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her advocacy on this very important issue. It is precisely why, from the very beginning, Canada stepped up in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is precisely why we helped found, support and co-chair the COVAX AMC group. It is exactly why we have donated millions of vaccines to the developing world. We understand that until we end this pandemic every…
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Mr. Speaker, I share my colleague's concern, because it is important for this government to make sure that we are supporting those with the lowest incomes, particularly families, across the country. We know that families in particular have been impacted by unpredictable added expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That is why, through the CCB, we are providing additional payments this year to help…
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Mr. Speaker, our government has taken action on the cost of living for families. One of the first things it did was increase the Canada child benefit. The government has committed to reducing the cost of day care. We understand how important it is to make sure that we are there for families, and we are going to continue to do that.
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Madam Speaker, as this is my first time rising to address the 44th Parliament, I wish to thank the people of Burlington for electing me for a third term. It is a privilege to be here in Ottawa representing them and advocating for our community. It is also an honour, as the new Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, to be working on behalf of the people of Burlington and families fr…
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Madam Speaker, I think it is really important to recognize how important the climate emergency is. We are seeing right now in British Columbia the devastating impact of the floods. We saw, over the course of the summer, the absolutely terrifying wildfires. As the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, I recognize that fighting climate change is something we need to do so that our k…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Sherbrooke for this question. I am pleased to give the House an update today. So far, we have signed nine agreements with the provinces and territories to reduce child care fees, which will help 60% of children in Canada. That is absolutely fantastic. It will help women, in particular, return to work, while also helping both our economy and Canada.
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Mr. Speaker, one of the things our government is moving forward on is affordable child care across the country. This is something that is so important to address affordability for families right across the country. As a parent, I know the high costs of child care are limiting for so many people. We will continue to work hard to make sure child care is affordable, so families have access to additio…
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Mr. Speaker, let us just reflect on the fact that, as of January 1, an agreement between the Province of Alberta, Premier Kenney, and the Government of Canada is going to bring a 50% reduction in fees for families in Alberta. For some families in Alberta that means an additional $600 or $700 a month. That is going to mean a lot for their bottom line, to give their children the things they need tod…
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Mr. Speaker, affordable, quality and inclusive child care is good for kids; it is good for parents and it is good for our economy. Sixty percent of children in Canada are now covered by provincial agreements with the federal government that will see $10-a-day child care in the next five years. That is nine provinces and territories where parents will see their child care fees cut in half next year…
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Mr. Speaker, first of all I would like to congratulate my new colleague, who I know is a new mother. I am looking forward to working with her to make life more affordable for families. In fact, I am really pleased to announce in this House that just a week ago we were in Alberta to announce $10-a-day day care. Not only are we working to make life more affordable for families in that member's ridin…
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Madam Speaker, I give notice that with respect to consideration of Government Business No. 1, at the next sitting of the House a minister of the Crown shall move, pursuant to Standing Order 57, that debate be not further adjourned.
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad to see the member opposite, for the first time, stand up on behalf of Palestinian children, because until now in this House he has been constantly asking the government to defund Anera, which, as he knows, provides education for 500,000 Palestinian children. In fact, this government has been sure to provide services that will protect and uphold the human rights of Palestinia…
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Mr. Speaker, the following reflects a consolidated response approved on behalf of Global Affairs Canada ministers. In response to (a), the Joint Peace Fund, a multi-party trust fund managed by the United Nations Office for Project Services, UNOPS, was supporting two grants that brought together the civilian government and the Tatmadaw, the National Reconciliation and Peace Center, NRPC, and the Jo…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Vimy for her important question. At the G7 summit, our government reaffirmed its commitment to meeting the international climate finance objective of $100 billion a year for climate finance in the places around the world that need it most. We also doubled our climate finance pledge from $2.65 billion in 2015 to $5.3 billion over the next five years. Here at h…
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Mr. Speaker, in response to (a), FinDev Canada has invested a total of $12 million U.S., in two stages: in February 2018, a total investment of $10 million U.S., and in January 2020, another $2 million U.S. In response to (b), at the time of FinDev Canada’s investment, M-KOPA’s business plan projected to double its workforce by 2023 to 1,600, creating 800 new direct jobs, and increase its direct s…
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Mr. Speaker, the following reflects a consolidated response approved on behalf of Global Affairs Canada ministers. Canada's presence abroad includes 178 missions, comprised of embassies, consulates, high commissions and trade offices, and a number of permanent missions to international organizations in 110 countries. Global Affairs Canada undertook an extensive preliminary search in order to deter…
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately an agreement could not be reached under the provisions of Standing Orders 78(1) or 78(2) with respect to the report stage and third reading stage of Bill C-30, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 19, 2021 and other measures. Under the provisions of Standing Order 78(3), I give notice that a minister of the Crown will propose…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for Mississauga—Lakeshore for his hard work on this issue. The $25 million in funding announced last week is being provided through trusted partners and will ensure that emergency relief quickly reaches Palestinian civilians whose humanitarian needs have only been worsened by this conflict. It will go beyond these urgent and immediate needs to also s…
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Mr. Chair, of course we have not. The $1.7 billion that we provided and mobilized over the course of the past year is continuing to respond right now. In fact, in India, UNICEF provided 1,400 oxygen cylinders from that money that Canada helped provide over the course of the past year. The $375 million is in addition to that, and this means that Canada is now one of only two countries to pay their …
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Mr. Chair, this is a top priority for us in Canada. As my hon. colleague mentioned, Canada has contributed significantly to development in Afghanistan, making gender equality and the rights of women and girls a top priority over the last 20 years. We are watching this situation closely, and we are certainly advocating at every opportunity that whatever a future Afghan government looks like, the ri…
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Mr. Chair, as the member knows, we launched a $40-million call for proposals alongside the launch of the “together for learning” campaign. We are doing significant advocacy work around the world to work with partner countries to ensure that refugees in their borders have access to education, and we will continue to do this work. We are a strong supporter of education—
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Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for her advocacy. I know she has worked for a long time in this sector. I would note that we have actually increased the proportion of aid going to organizations based in Canada. When we came into office, it was just over $600 million a year. It is now over $970 million a year. We have also created a $100-million window for small and medium-sized Canadian-based orga…
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Mr. Chair, as my colleague knows, Canada's ODA/GNI ratio is currently 0.31%, which is the highest it has been since 2012. In fact, on a volume basis it is higher than it has ever been. That includes a 2018 commitment to increase our ODA by $2 billion, which is going through, as well as the additional $1.7 billion we raised specifically for the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year.
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Madam Chair, the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates why it is so important for a country like Canada to be engaged on the world stage. We know that until everyone is safe from COVID-19, no one is, so that is why we have stepped up so much over the past year and will continue to do so.
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Madam Chair, we increased our contribution to the WHO this past year. I announced more than $100 million to address the COVID-19 crisis. We are stepping up to address the COVID-19 crisis. That is very important.
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Madam Chair, I take allegations of anti-Semitism extremely seriously. As the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor who spent time in Theresienstadt and Auschwitz and made their way to Canada, I take this seriously. We are taking it seriously. However, if there is one thing I will not do, it is deny education to 500,000 Palestinian children. That was denied to my grandfather by Nazi Germany, and I …
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Madam Chair, as I have mentioned to my hon. colleague on several occasions, the governor for the AIIB is actually the Minister of Finance. That being said, Canada advances gender equality and environmental policies, as well as human rights and fighting corruption, in all international fora in which we engage. That is a consistent approach by Canadians in every single multilateral organization—
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Madam Chair, as the member opposite will know from each time he has questioned me on this, this is actually under the purview of the Minister of Finance. I am not the governor for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, but we do recognize in Canada that it follows the same rules as other multilateral development banks, and Canada as—
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Madam Chair, I would just note that for the first time in 15 years, Canada is providing funding for peace-building initiatives, something that Canada used to do before the funding was cut by the previous government under Stephen Harper. We need to advance these people-to-people ties to advance the peace agenda, and what we hope will be a two-state solution so that Israelis and Palestinians can liv…
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Madam Chair, when it comes to peace in the Middle East, this government has been very active. In fact, we just announced $25 million in humanitarian assistance in response to the latest violence, $5 million of which is going to peace-building initiatives, something we know is desperately needed in the region. When it comes to UNRWA, I have been taking this issue very seriously and working with int…
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Madam Chair, we always try to ensure that Canadian dollars are consistent with Canadian values. In fact, this is why we have raised this issue with the World Health Organization, both as a matter of access to justice and as a matter of ensuring that sexual exploitation and abuse do not occur in the World Health Organization on a systemic—
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Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for raising what is a very important issue. We became aware of these issues as they were reported, and we have been in discussion with the World Health Organization. Canada, alongside like-minded countries, has démarched the WHO on this specifically, recognizing that those who are survivors of sexual and gender-based violence need to have adequate access to justic…
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