Improving the lives of Families in Burnaby and North Vancouver
How the Canada Child Benefit Can Help Your Family
The new Canada Child Benefit (CCB) is one of the most significant family focused policies introduced in a generation. It plays a large part in our commitment to making sure children in communities like ours get the best start in life. The CCB is providing 9 out of 10 families with more money, and is lifting 300,000 children out of poverty. In fact, for the typical family, the CCB is providing an additional $2,500 a year. This will help parents in Burnaby and North Vancouver pay for everything from housing to school supplies for the coming year. The Canada Child Benefit is part of our overall plan to make life more affordable.
Child Care and Early Learning
Every child in Canada, from those in rural communities to those in cities like Burnaby and North Vancouver, deserves access to quality early learning and child care. I understand that finding affordable care is challenging for families in our community. In fact, from the conversations I’ve had, I know that for many working families, child care payments cost more than their mortgages or their rent. That is why I am proud of our government’s decision to make high-quality child care more affordable, flexible, and inclusive.
We have worked with the provinces and territories, and in June, we announced the first ever multilateral agreement on child care. We are committed to investing $7.5 billion over 11 years to improve the quality and affordability of new and existing child care spaces. We’re supporting up to 40,000 spaces over the next three years alone. We are also proud that a Distinct Indigenous Framework on Early Learning and Child Care will be created in cooperation with Indigenous partners to reflect the unique cultures and needs of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children across Canada.
Making Housing More Affordable
Access to affordable housing is a priority in Burnaby and North Vancouver, as it is across all of Metro Vancouver. That is why we highlighted housing as our single largest commitment in Budget 2017. Our National Housing Strategy includes an $11.2 billion investment to build, renew, and repair our affordable housing stock. Budget 2017 also proposes to establish a National Housing Fund to address critical housing issues and prioritize support for vulnerable citizens. At a community level, I am proud to have worked together with fellow MPs, MLAs, City Councillors, and local community leaders on this issue. I strongly believe in the importance of working with all levels of government across party lines to address major issues in our society. I believe that these measures will help ease the burden and economic risk that expensive housing places on Canadian families.