Thank you, Madam Chair.
Across the country we see that police service is, in the vast majority of cases, the biggest single line item of an operating budget. Police are responding to tens of thousands of mental health calls each year. Studies show that the percentage of police work police that involves social issues is evergrowing, while coincidentally, we are seeing the defunding of multiple critical social services. Something is wrong here, and it is costing people their lives.
Can the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development advise on the vision of the government regarding this reality and share with this committee if there is any plan on the table toward ensuring that communities have access to the funds required to reinvest in the social services that the population critically needs?