I wanted to start by discussing the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, but I think that the presentations made by the organizations Justice for Girls and BC CEDAW Group have prompted us to reconsider our priorities and to start with them. According to a number of urban legends, which are sometimes true and sometimes false, the federal budget is sometimes too much of an abstract notion for us to be cognizant of these concerns. It is also said that responsiveness to this kind of program is not gender-biased. The fact that there are fewer women than men in the House of Commons does not mean that the House is not responsive to these issues. I would like to revisit certain elements.
Ms. Day, you said earlier—and I am using the translation that was provided for us—that it's a bad time to make things even worse. Last year in the budgetary context, I talked about an 18- to 24-month timeline. There is a time lag between the beginning of a recession and our recognition of an increase in homelessness, whether it is among young people, the elderly, men, women or children. I would like to know if you are also witnessing the same trend here. People may be under the impression that the recession is over, but if it began 18 or 24 months ago, you are just now starting to experience a very strong increase in clientele. People who have lost their overtime privileges or their job have applied for employment insurance or social assistance benefits. Next, they may end up on the street.
Does this trend become increasingly prevalent a year and a half or two years into a recession, even as the government seems to have moved on to saying everything is going smoothly?
Ms. Czapska or Ms. Day, perhaps you could answer that.