The 1999 Speech from the Throne:
Children

October 12, 1999

In the new economy -- where knowledge and creativity are the pillars of national success -- achieving a better quality of life will require – as never before – a population that is adaptable, resilient and that is ready to learn throughout life.

It is also clear that the foundation for such capacities -- for Canada's future prosperity and a better quality of life -- is laid in the very early years of life.

The strength of our society will depend on the investments we make today – as a nation – in families and children.

Loving and involved parents and supportive families are, the cornerstones of the well-being, happiness and success of any child.

Canadians also want their governments to work in partnership with parents, and the private and voluntary sector to ensure that all children are equipped with the capacities they need to be ready to learn when they begin school, and to grow into healthy, productive adults.

We have no higher priority as a government.

A Record of Achievement

With our partners, we agreed in January 1997, to work together to develop the National Children's Agenda, a comprehensive strategy to improve the well-being of Canada's children -- with a special focus on the problems of low-income families with children.

The centrepiece of our progress to date is the National Child Benefit (NCB) -- the most innovative new national social program in a generation.

Thanks to the NCB an additional $1.7 billion annually is going to low-income families with children, while provinces and territories are re-investing in complementary services. This will increase to $2 billion annually by July 2000, bringing total federal assistance for families with children to almost $7 billion a year.

Hundreds upon hundreds of projects to help children and parents are underway in communities across Canada with the assistance of federal programs such as:

• Aboriginal Head Start, which the government recently expanded to include on-reserve children;

• the Canadian Prenatal Nutrition Program, which funds community groups that counsel and help women at risk of having unhealthy babies; and

• the Community Action Program for Children, which funds community groups that assist in meeting the developmental needs of at-risk children from birth to age 6.

• New child support laws include guidelines for determining child support amounts and changes in the tax treatment of child support.

1999 SFT Commitments

We are committed to increasing resources going into early childhood development, providing targeted assistance for low-income families with children, and fostering family-friendly workplaces. We will:

• Work with the provinces and territories to put in place an action plan by December 2000 to further strengthen the community support for early childhood development

• Make a third significant investment in the National Child Benefit by 2002.

• Put more dollars in the hands of families with children through further tax relief.

• Lengthen and make more flexible Employment Insurance benefits for parental leave.

• Make the Government of Canada's own workplace policies and those of federally-regulated employers more family-friendly.

• Modernize family law to ensure that, in instances of divorce or separation, the needs of children come first.