Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this motion. I believe very strongly in the comments that have been made by my colleagues already. This is a small amount of money which does have a huge impact on families. It does allow them to provide for their children in ways that they would not be able to if their rent has been increased. I am particularly concerned about the inconsistencies that we have in our policies across government. We assess our income for a particular program one way in one department. We assess it differently in a different department. It is no wonder that our residents are confused about what documents they need when they go to apply for a program.
I think that both parts of this motion are equally important for me. Personally, I think the second part of the motion is more important. We need to look across government to determine how we are assessing income. There is no reason, in my mind, why it needs to be different for one program than for the other. I think it will make it easier for our residents certainly. It will make it easier for our staff, I think. If they changed departments, for instance, they don’t need to relearn all over again how to calculate or make an assessment for income.
I am fully supportive of the motion. I would like to thank the Member for bringing it forward and the seconder for also supporting the motion. I would urge my colleagues to vote in favour. Thank you.