Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for being here.
I believe Mr. Sarlo was talking about solving the poverty problem at the national level, but I'm going to contradict him. The minimum wage isn't the same from province to province, and expenses aren't the same. A house in Calgary costs a lot more than a house in Quebec, in my riding. How can you assess poverty from one province to the other?
I agree with Mr. Calderhead that the money should be transferred to the provinces so they can transfer it to the regions. Who knows more about the poverty in a region than the people responsible for that region?
Managing poverty is no easy matter. It's not easy for the organizations, which are becoming increasingly poor, to manage poverty. As Mr. D'Amours said, in view of the 25% cuts to funding for the organizations, how can literacy and other organizations manage to get people out of poverty?
Early childhood centres have been established in Quebec. That's one way of helping young people in poor environments go to kindergarten and grade one with the same knowledge as slightly more fortunate children. Seven years after they were created, we realize that these centres are effective because children who arrive in kindergarten aren't out of their element.
Do you think that the taxable amount of $1,200 for child care expenses can help single mothers return to the labour market or go back and register in school and get out of poverty? Do you think that's a good idea?