Hello everyone,

I am very happy to see people from all across the country joining us today.

A big shout-out to Deputy Prime Minister Freeland, an outstanding Finance Minister. And someone who gets what it’s like to juggle kids and a career.

Let me also recognize Allison Venditti for starting the Moms At Work group, and for bringing us together today.

This is an awesome opportunity to talk with moms, and talk about the challenges we’re facing. I’m really looking forward to get into it.

But first, I want to talk about the CCB.

When you have kids, you expect some curve balls. But you don’t expect a global pandemic.

So with the extra expenses of raising a family during this crisis, lots of parents needed more help.

So on top of the regular amount, we’re increasing the Canada Child Benefit for kids under six. That means up to $1,200 in support this year – extra – per child under the age of six.

Today, the first of these boosted payments will be going out.

Whether you use your CCB cheque to buy a tablet for homeschooling or to put good food on the table, that money is there for you.

But not only are you making sure bills get paid and helping your kids make sense of this crisis, you’re also trying to juggle all of that with work.

And for too many mothers, this year has meant the heartbreaking choice to leave a career.

We cannot let the pandemic take away the gains moms have fought hard for.

That’s why we’re making historic investments in early learning and child care.

We’re building a Canada-wide early learning and child care system. This plan will cut fees in half by the end of next year. And in five years, we’ll reach an average of $10 a day care across the country.

Helping parents balance work and family isn’t just the right choice, it’s the smart one.

We’re building a stronger economy for everyone.