Thank you very much, all of you, for your insightful comments.
I think all of us around this table would agree that poverty is a complex issue that has multi-dimensional facets and hence requires very comprehensive and detailed solutions. I think all of us, with our desire to study the issue, really want to ensure that there are solutions and that the report is actually going to be tangible and will be used by the federal government to come up with a national strategy. I know that all of you have done extensive work in that regard.
My first question is for Shawn, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in my office last month. We had the opportunity to discuss some of the work the food banks are doing across the country to deal with the issue.
Perhaps, for the rest of the committee members, you could identify for us.... We've seen that some demographics within the country are more impacted by poverty than others--recent immigrants, the aboriginal population, single mothers, and women. Do you think that within the immigrant communities, for those who are living in poverty, there is a stigma attached to accessing food banks?