Madam Speaker, I will take this opportunity to wish all a merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah and a happy new year. I hope that members spend much quality time with their families, friends and neighbours in their communities.
I am honoured to rise today in response to the Speech from the Throne. It is my first time rising in the House in the 43rd Parliament. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my constituents for putting their faith in me to represent them once again in the House. I truly believe that by working together, we can make all our communities that much better. I thank my team that worked tirelessly day in and day out. I thank all of the volunteers who supported me, knocked on doors, installed signs, made phone calls and everything in between. I truly would not be here if not for many individuals who helped me over the past few months.
I thank my family. I thank Leanna, my rock in life, for coming along on this journey with me. I thank Logan, Jordan, Tyler and Jake and my grandson Hudson for supporting me. I thank my mom Claudette and my father George Wayne for not only being there for me and helping me, but also continuing to be there for me on a daily basis. I would not be in this House representing Niagara Centre if it were not for all of the people close to me, especially those throughout my community and the nation. From the bottom of my heart, I say to each and every one of these individuals those two words that we, quite frankly, do not say enough: “thank you”. I would be remiss if I did not extend congratulations to all members who have been elected to represent Canadians in this House and all who ran for those positions in the past year.
The Speech from the Throne is a blueprint for the government to show Canadians where we are and where we want to be. It is an opportunity for all of us in the House to discuss with vigour and passion the role and direction of this government, but equally as important, the role of all 338 members of the House of Commons.
I look forward to having discussions here today and well into the future with respect to everyone's interests. First is the action on skilled trades. We have made remarkable strides in this area since being elected almost five years ago. However, as we celebrate this achievement, we know there is much more to do. Once again, to progress is by working together.
Some provinces and regions across this great nation are struggling to find workers to fill the important positions in our economy that our industries are attempting to fill. My region of Niagara is no exception. Niagara, not unlike other jurisdictions, is beginning to experience a skilled trades shortage. There is a need for welders, pipefitters, boilermakers, seafarers, tile setters, plumbers, technicians, cooks, chefs and other hands-on, hard-working skilled tradespeople.
Thanks to the efforts of the former minister of employment, workforce development and labour, our government has significantly boosted federal support to the provinces, as well as the territories, by $2.7 billion over six years. This is to help more unemployed, underemployed and those wanting to be retrained to get into the workforce, to strengthen our workforce and, therefore, to strengthen our overall national economy. We have invested $225 million over four years to identify and fill skill gaps in the economy to help Canadians be best prepared for that new economy. Additional investments in collaboration with our partners will see us collectively work to eliminate the skilled trades shortage.
We have cut taxes. We have made it more affordable for Canadians. Canadians and this government created the environment for more than one million new jobs in just four years.
With an economy that is strong and with steadily declining debt relative to the size of our economy, Canada now has the best performance and the best balance sheet in the G7. This is thanks to the efforts of all of us, once again working together toward those common goals. Together we have helped 900,000 people out of poverty. At the same time, we know that we need to be prepared for whatever challenges are to come our way in the future.
Our plan will see tax cuts for all but the wealthiest Canadians. This week our government has taken steps to amend the Income Tax Act to lower taxes for the middle class and people working extremely hard to join it. Nearly 20 million Canadians will benefit. This will save a single person close to $300 a year. For families, including families led by a single parent, the savings will be closer to $600 a year.
I have seen first-hand in my riding and throughout the Niagara region the positive impact the Canada child benefit has had on many individuals and many families. Young families are able to afford items like school supplies and sports equipment, and join different organizations. This adds to the quality of life that they well deserve as Canadians. For the very first time, the benefit gives more money every month to nine out of 10 families. It has lifted 300,000 children out of poverty. We will give up to $1,000 more to families to help when the costs of raising kids are the highest by boosting the Canada child benefit by 15% for children under the age of one. We will make sure families get more money right away by making maternity and parental benefits tax-free.
We have heard today about the new NAFTA supporting trade and strengthening our economy. Thanks must be extended to all the Canadians from every corner of this country, from all walks of life and from all political points of view, who joined this government in this effort. This includes the Prime Minister. It includes the Deputy Prime Minister. It includes the NAFTA Council and the premiers. Regardless of what party's flag is being flown, kudos to each and every one of us working together to come to this achievement. The new NAFTA represents Canadian jobs, in particular in Niagara and certainly for Canada, this great nation. This new agreement will reinforce the strong economic ties between three countries, and support well-paying middle-class jobs for Canadians.
Transportation and infrastructure are things that are key to the nation, particularly in my riding of Niagara, being a border region. Canada's national transportation infrastructure comprises 26 airports, 18 port authorities, 45,000 kilometres of track and 38,000 kilometres of roadway, as well as our Great Lakes, our St. Lawrence and, once again in our region of Niagara, the Welland Canal.
Let us dig a bit deeper into what we have in Niagara that contributes to strengthening the overall Canadian national interests and economy. In Niagara we have the Welland Canal, the Queen Elizabeth Highway, Highway 406, local airports, all located within a one-day's drive of over 44% of North America's annual income. Niagara is a perfect example of how different modes of transport integrating distributional logistics will strengthen our nation's international trade performance. The gateways for trade in goods between Canada and its trade partners are vital. Without them, our strengthened supply chains cannot flow with fluidity.
This is why I was honoured to work on the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities throughout the last Parliament, to work together with all parties in the establishment of a Canadian transportation and logistics strategy.
I am looking forward to building on the progress that the committee made and will continue to make, such as the alignment of our transportation assets to strengthen, for example, the Great Lakes binational region. This will include the economies, the social and the environmental responsibilities that we have that are attached to the Great Lakes.
We put forward new abandoned vessel legislation to ensure that polluters will pay for their mess, not middle-class Canadians. We will stand up for Canadian travellers and ensure they are treated with fairness and respect by amending the Transportation Modernization Act.
We will address key bottlenecks with the national trade corridors fund. Through working together with colleagues on all sides of the House and with Canadians with respect to transport and infrastructure issues in Ottawa, I was also pleased to run on a platform that included creating a national infrastructure fund, funding public transit and ensuring that all municipalities continue to have stable and direct funding for strategies and priorities established by them. This will fund local projects based on the work done by the wonderful teams at the municipal level, the local level, the community level. We will continue to work with members of the House to improve transportation infrastructure for Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
With respect to housing, we will work hard to address affordability, taking action to invest in affordable housing and make it easier for more people to buy their first home. We have invested millions, for example, in the city of Welland in my riding to build more affordable housing and continue to work with Niagara Regional Housing to ensure we strengthen affordable housing throughout the Niagara region.
Fighting climate change is the defining challenge of our time and a defining moment of this Parliament. It is a sentiment shared by Canadians. Canadians overwhelmingly voted in favour of immediate and ambitious action to combat climate change. Our environment is important to all Canadians because without a protected environment, we have no future to live in and even our health could be at risk.
Clean air and clean water are musts in this day and age. New technologies are paramount and need to be created to help us deal with the issue of climate change. We are committed to protecting the environment by setting a target to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, putting a price on pollution, protecting and conserving nature and reducing plastic pollution within our environment.
We are committed to developing new technologies. We are committed to improving the environment we live in and protecting Canadians from harmful substances. Our government cares about attaining a cleaner and safer environment for all Canadians.
With respect to seniors, Canadians are living longer than ever before. Today's seniors are also facing rising health care costs. The number of seniors who rely on monthly benefits to make ends meet rises as Canadians, our neighbours, our family members and our friends age. We lowered the age of eligibility for old age security from 67 to 65. We moved forward with this change because we know it boosts seniors' retirement savings by thousands of dollars and lets them retire at an earlier age.
To make life more affordable for people as they age, we will move forward with an increase in the old age security benefit by 10% for seniors when they turn 75 and will continue to raise it along with inflation. This will help to lift more than 20,000 seniors out of poverty, two-thirds of whom are women, and will give greater financial security to more than three million seniors every year. For most seniors, it will mean up to $729 in additional financial help every year once they reach the age of 75.
We will move forward with more help for seniors who have lost their partners. We will work with the provinces and territories to give even more support to survivors by increasing the Canada pension plan. This increase, worth up to $2,080 in additional benefits every year, will give more than 1.2 million seniors more money and greater peace of mind at a time when they need it most.
I see this in Niagara every day. Whether at Portal Village in the city of Port Colborne, at Villa de Rose in the city of Welland or Cobble Stone Gardens Retirement Residence in the city of Thorold, seniors need investment so they can retire in comfort, as they deserve. Our seniors built this country, they built our communities and they are the foundation, our guides, our place where we learn who we are and where we come from, therefore navigating where we go from here.
The Speech from the Throne is a road map for where we want to go in this new Parliament. It is our guide, working for Canadians. Yes, we have work to do. We will keep fighting for families, for our children, for climate action, for seniors, for indigenous communities, for Canada on the world stage.
With this in mind, I am looking forward to getting down to work with all 338 members of the House, Canadians with the same interests, finding mechanisms, finding action plans to then satisfy the needs of all 338 ridings throughout this great nation. We can only do this by working together toward the common goals of all Canadians.
We must never underestimate the impact we have on others, our families, friends and neighbours, all of us throughout this great nation. Whether it be from the House of Commons, or within our communities, or representing an organization, or as a member of provincial parliaments or territories, or as mayors, councillors or volunteers, we must never underestimate the impact we have on others. It could be one word, one sentence or one action in a mall, on a sidewalk or in the halls of the House of Commons that can change someone's life forever. The responsibility we have as Canadians is to affect others in a positive way, and we have that opportunity.
Within the House, we as parliamentarians must adhere to a mindset of equality for all 338 ridings throughout our great nation. Regardless of who represents those individual ridings or what party they may belong to, we need to meet the expectations of Canadians.
We are Canada. As President Obama said in the House, “The world needs more Canada.” With that, it is therefore incumbent upon us to ensure we are nationally together strengthening the Canadian values, leading by example in this great nation, but, equally important, internationally, standing shoulder to shoulder as Canadians. However, it starts with vision, followed by working closer together as a stronger nation. Only we as leaders within our communities, beginning in the House of Commons, and working with our partners can we achieve and therefore become a better nation because of what we achieve here together.