Thank you very much.
Good morning, and thank you very much for inviting us to join you this morning.
My name is Drummond White. I am representing the Canadian Association of Social Workers. That's a federal body consisting of nine provinces and the north. Our profession has as its guiding light the pursuit of social justice; the strengthening, of course, of our profession; and enhancing excellence in regulation. But the number one goal of our professional association is the pursuit of social justice. It's in that light that we have spent a great deal of time, effort, and our own resources in dealing with issues of poverty.
Today we're focusing here, as we have over the last several years, on women's poverty. We have sponsored a number of papers, The Declining Health and Well-Being of Low-Income Women in Canada: A Preventable Tragedy, from two years ago; Financial Security for Women Seniors in Canada, from last November; and Women's Income and Poverty in Canada Revisited, from 2004.
Glenn Drover, who is our social policy consultant, will be doing the majority of our presentation, and I certainly will be available for questions as well as Glenn.
I turn the floor over to Glenn.
Thank you.