Thank you.
I'd be remiss if I didn't take the time to commend your efforts and the efforts of your government in tackling this important problem provincially. It's a problem for every province in Canada. Some of the challenges you're going through right now we're going through in Alberta with regard to a labour shortage and related issues.
There is a study that I refer to quite often, and it was done by a former NDP MLA from Saskatchewan named John Richards. He took a look at some provincial welfare programs and cuts that were made by NDP, Liberal, and Conservative governments in three provinces. He found that, after transfer cuts were made in mid-1990 by the federal government, poverty levels in those provinces actually went down. I took from this that sometimes government efforts are made to help people who maybe don't need help. Sometimes the unintended consequence is to hurt people, to encourage a cycle of dependence that might do more harm than good. At least that was the case in Alberta, B.C., and Ontario, the three cases that were studied.
I'll use a personal example. I have a son with autism, and I know that in provinces across the country there are many families dealing with autism who are borrowing $40,000 a year and mortgaging their houses to fund the treatment. The kids with autism can't help themselves, and it's my belief that helping those families should be a priority for provincial governments across the country. Yet, in my view, there is money being spent on other priorities to help people who could help themselves.
Maybe you can comment on that example. Are we sometimes trying to do too much for people who can help themselves and maybe not focusing enough on people who can't?