Speech from Minister Jean-Yves Duclos: for an announcement on the Canada Child Benefit, the Canada Workers Benefit and the Canada Housing Benefit

Scarborough, Ontario
January 10, 2019
Check against delivery

Opening

Hello everyone. I’m happy to be here this morning in Scarborough.

I would like to acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples.[1]

I would also like to thank the ADONIS Group for welcoming us today.

In 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and our government announced a plan to help the middle class and those who are working hard to join it.

One of our first actions as a government was to raise taxes on the richest so that we could lower them on hard working middle class Canadians.

We did this because we know that however hard middle class families work, some of them have a hard time making ends meet.

That’s why our focus will be the same as it has been since 2015: continuing to grow the middle class and helping those working hard to join it.

Looking back, one of our greatest accomplishments has been the introduction of the Canada Child Benefit – or the CCB.

Canada Child Benefit

The CCB is a tax-free benefit that is simpler and more generous than the previous system of child benefits. Overall, the CCB is helping almost 3.7 million Canadian families.

And last year, we increased the CCB to keep up with the cost of living, giving parents even more help to provide for their children.

In fact, 9 out of 10 families in Canada now have more money in their pockets than under the previous system.

Let me give you an example. Take a single mother in Scarborough earning between $15 and $20 an hour, working full time, with two children, age six and eight.

With the CCB, that mother is receiving approximately one thousand dollars per month, tax-free, and with the indexation of the CCB she’ll be receiving nearly $600 more per year, again, tax-free by 2020.

This is giving her more money to help with the costs of raising her two children, such as healthy food and warm clothing for the winter.

It will help her children to live well now and to be successful later in life.

Canada Workers Benefit

Starting in April 2019, the new Canada Workers Benefit will put more money in the pockets of low-income workers and encourage more people to join and stay in the workforce.

This new benefit will offer real help to more than two million Canadians who are working hard to join the middle class. This new benefit replaces the old WITB system and will help lift an additional 74,000 Canadians out of poverty.

Through the Canada Workers Benefit, a single individual without children could receive more than $1,300 while a single parent or a worker in a couple could receive more than $2,300.

That’s more money to help cover costs such as healthy food and clothing.

Canada Housing Benefit

We also know that housing affordability is a challenge for many Canadians.

That’s why as part of the National Housing Strategy, our government is working with provinces and territories to develop the Canada Housing Benefit.

This new benefit to be launched in 2020 will provide an average of $2,500 to Canadians in housing need and will help 300,000 families access affordable housing.

Designed to meet local needs and delivered by provinces and territories, the CHB will be a new tool to fight the challenge of housing affordability.

Closing

All together under these benefits, low-income families could collect a maximum benefit of $17,000. This is almost $5,000 more than under the previous system of child benefits and the Working Income Tax Benefit (WITB).

Every Canadian deserves a real and fair chance to succeed, no matter where they live or where they come from.

That’s why our government will continue to make investments that will improve the lives of Canadians today and build a brighter, more hopeful future for generations to come.

Thank you.

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[1] https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/accessibility-human-rights/indigenous-affairs-office/land-acknowledgement/