Mr. Chair, it is a pleasure to join this committee. It is an interesting topic. I would like to say that I think something is working in a society where somebody like me, the youngest of four children in a single-parent home, can make it to the place behind this table in a very short period of time, and in a society when at the time there were not social programs as available as they are today.
That said, my first question is for Mr. Sarlo. It deals with the issue of homelessness, which typically comes up when we discuss poverty. I am particularly referring to the national homelessness initiative. I note, Mr. Sarlo, that in the past you've made some interesting comments. I would like to quote from your work and then have you follow up with a comment on this particular quote.
You wrote in January 2004:
Homelessness is a national tragedy. Human beings are dying or risking death every year because, for whatever reason, they have no shelter. Yet, we have apparently made no serious attempt to determine how many people are in this predicament and why. And, without this information we really cannot develop a credible policy for resolving the problem. Without it, we cannot even determine whether the problem is capable of resolution.
You said, “We have a program”—the NHI—“that is very heavy on social development jargon and very light on problem solving, specific deliverables, and value-for-money analysis.” It's an axiom in economics that if you can't measure it, you can't manage it, and I think that's what is at the core of your comments here.
I am wondering if you would like to elaborate on that particular statement.