Let me take this income inequality a step further to indicate to you what's apparently going to show up on Thursday.
The gap is growing. We are seeing the rich, the top 5%, driving up shelter prices beyond the reach of an increasing number of people in the country. It says in The Toronto Star that “economists have been buried by reports from Statistics Canada...showing income inequality to be on the rise”. That isn't a surprise. What is a surprise is the analysis connecting the dots between incomes and shelter costs. More and more people will not have housing or adequate housing. This takes it even further, beyond a moral imperative to act. It says this situation may not be sustainable.
From what I can see, there is no new money. You've mentioned some money for housing in your report. But we can't find any new money, and we can't see any new housing starts. We don't see anything coming directly out of the federal government, certainly not in my community. I think the same is true in communities across the country. We need new housing starts, and this income inequality is going to make the problem even worse.