Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for being here today, Mr. Smith.
One of your overarching conclusions, which you inferred again today, as you do in some of your other materials, is that there are many things that can and should be done to help reduce poverty and prevent more of it in the future. Much of that, or a fair bit of it, focuses less on the spending of money but rather on--I think you would use the term--the encouragement of social networks and values and habits, those kinds of things instead, contributing to a strong social fabric. What exactly are those “networks”, “values”, and “habits”? Maybe give us a little more detail.
This is my first question. I'll ask the second right away as well. But maybe you could give us a little bit of a definition or insight in terms of those networks, those values, those habits as the foundation for social justice and positive socio-economic outcomes.
My second one is a follow-up to that. You alluded to it in response to some of the other members here. In regard to the local initiatives that you argue are more effective in combatting poverty and its causes than the larger, more remote programs, what are some of those local initiatives and smaller programs that are, in your view, more effective than some of the global, large, remote programs?
The first question is on the networks, values, and habits as the foundation.