Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to thank you, Mr. Treusch, for your presentation. I'd also like to thank your colleagues for being here today and providing us with this information.
When you described the lay of the land, you said that currently the economy is at an all-time high in terms of profitability and performance. You're responsible for social programs which also help people in tough times. One need only think of employment insurance, skills development, literacy, and so on and so forth.
Maybe you can clarify this for me, but I'm always surprised that there is such a heavy focus in most presentations on economic performance and far less emphasis placed on the harsh realities of unemployment, housing, training and employment. Let me use poverty, by way of example. We were told again recently that there are fewer poor people for the very reason that the economy is doing well. At the same time, we see the poor getting poorer. One indicator clearly demonstrates this: food banks are increasingly in demand. Representatives from the Canadian Association of Food Banks told us last year that in Canada, 850,000 people, including 250,000 children, got food from food banks. This year, the figure jumped higher. We were told recently there were 317,000 children. This brings me to my question. I gave you that little outline so my question would be clear.
To what degree does this issue concern you? Do you spend much time thinking about the plight in which those that lose their jobs find themselves in?
I believe that the fact unemployment insurance is not very accessible contributes to making families poorer. I'd like to hear your comments on the two aspects I just referred to, namely the real plight of the poor and particularly the impact of employment insurance on their situation.