King-Vaughan MP Deb Schulte takes a look back at 2018

It's important to reflect and look to the future at the end of the year, writes Deb Schulte

Yorkregion.com
December 18, 2018

The end of the year is a time for reflection, a time to look back on our accomplishments, and a time to plan for the year ahead.

During the last twelve months our Government has taken critical action to support Canadian businesses and expand access to world markets. While we continue to take action to support the growing Canadian economy, it is also important we ensure that all Canadians can benefit from this growth and have a real opportunity to succeed. Many people would be surprised to learn that in 2016 over 10% of the children (17 & under) in our riding live in poverty, as do almost 8% of those over 65 years of age. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the initiatives the Government has implemented to address this inequality, to provide more support to Canadians, and those most vulnerable in our communities.

One of the first initiatives enacted by our government was to lower taxes for nearly 9 million Canadians. We lowered the federal tax rate for incomes between approx. $45,000 -- $90,000 (2016) by 1.5%, putting more money in the hands of middle-class Canadians while asking those earning over $200K to pay a little more.

We also recognized the high cost of raising children and created a simplified and tax-free Canada Child Benefit (CCB) to put more money in the pockets of parents who need it most. We recently indexed it to ensure the benefit will keep up with inflation. Each month in our riding, the CCB assists approx. 13,150 families and 23,781 children. That is a total of over $6.7 million dollars, every month, to help families to provide things like healthy food, clothes, sports & music lessons, and lower transportation costs (July 2018 CCB Data). This money has also been a boost to our small business and local economy.

Our Government is aware of the difficulties our youth face finding their first meaningful employment opportunity in our competitive work environment. Through the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program we are able to provide opportunities for students, and local businesses and organizations, to create that important work experience. The program provides wage subsidies to employers to create employment for secondary and post-secondary students, and this year, you will not have to be a student to qualify. This program not only supports our youth, but also our local businesses and organizations to provide additional services that boost our local economy.

Since 2015, CSJ has supported 166 local projects & employed 616 students in King-Vaughan! That’s an investment of over $1.7 million to support local businesses and students in the past three years in positions that range from administration, optometry and tech design to videographers, teachers, seniors care, and stable hands!

Employment insurance (EI) is a critical program to support workers in times of need, so we made changes to support families and improve employment insurance (EI) benefits to provide more flexibility, and to help with care-giving responsibilities. We have also reduced the wait time for all types of EI. With our new Employment Insurance Parental Sharing Benefit, launching in March 2019, parents will get extra flexibility to care for a new child. This new measure will provide an additional five weeks of EI parental benefits when parents agree to share parenting duties, or eight additional weeks if they choose to spread their EI benefits over a longer period.

Seniors in the riding of King-Vaughan, and across Canada, have worked hard to help build our economy and our communities, and deserve a secure retirement. As the former Chair of the Liberal Seniors Caucus, I am proud of the steps we have already taken to support our seniors, however we have much more that needs to be done. To help our most vulnerable seniors, we raised the GIS for single seniors almost $1,000 in 2016, benefiting approximately 750,000 Canadians, helping lift 13,000 seniors out of poverty. We have also committed 10-year stable funding to provinces and territories for better home care and mental health services, including palliative care, as I know how critical these services are for our seniors. Our government has also taken steps to create more accessible, and affordable housing, so more Canadians, including seniors, have a comfortable place to call home. We have improved the EI caregiver benefits to make it easier for Canadians to take leave from work in order to care for a family member and improved the Caregiver Tax Credit as it is so important to have the necessary support during a health crisis.

The New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) is another initiative to support seniors in our communities that I am particularly proud of. The program promotes positive aging and fights social isolation by providing funding for community-driven projects that are led and inspired by seniors. Over the last three years alone, the NHSP has provided $590,937 to 14 local seniors clubs and organizations, in our riding. Our seniors in King

Vaughan never fail to inspire me.

As we head into the New Year, I am committed to continue fighting for you in Ottawa and to building a better Canada for all Canadians. I want to wish everyone a very Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy Kwanzaa!

Deb Schulte is the member of Parliament for King-Vaughan