I obviously was strong in my comments and I probably surprised some by the strength of them in criticizing the bill. It's because I think it is so critical that we get this right at the outset, because it would be leaving such a significant portion out.
We certainly support the bill. With the current process that's in place, we aren't seeing the aboriginal community benefiting. We aren't seeing aboriginal day cares opening up with the $100 a month. We aren't seeing those kinds of things happening. The plans simply are not reaching our communities, and neither would this one. That was our concern.
The head start program has been incredibly vital. We have 20 urban aboriginal head start programs across the country. These head start programs are having tremendous impact on the young. Our communities do not have a culture of learning right now. Half of our people are dropping out of high school. Imagine in your riding and in your family, if half the people didn't graduate from high school, the kind of national outcry there would be.
The head start program is one of the few programs that are having a tremendous impact in giving these young kids a head start, and it's having tremendous impact. The parents are involved in the communities. The teaching is happening. It's an incredible thing. This could add to that. The head start programs are in addition to the child day care spaces I talked about, but they certainly are a complementary strategy in terms of having these head start programs where kids are coming in and learning.
So I hope my comments and the strength with which I present them aren't being misconstrued to suggest that we don't support the bill or that the bill should be....
I'm hoping that in our strong language you'll see the areas where we think amendments need to be made in order to ensure that our community has proper access, and I think cutting the head start program back would be a tremendous detriment to the community and the kind of momentum that's occurring in a lot of these agencies right now.