I would say yes, loud and clear. Our province is not showing leadership in addressing poverty, especially homelessness. The bilateral agreements are rolling out very slowly, as is the new stimulus package of $128 million. This will fill some gaps and will be used for all the things that haven't been done since the national housing strategy was abolished in the nineties. There will be a lot of renovations. There will be affordable housing markets. But there isn't anything for the clients we are talking about—people on social assistance, low-income families, and people already in the shelter system. None of these funds will go deep enough to address this issue. All we are left with is the homelessness partnering strategy—just over $3 million and unchanged for ten years.
We urge the federal government to stay involved, to be the leader, and to set the requirements and the standards for how these programs need to be rolled out. It's important to put a face to the issue. We deal with this on a day-to-day basis, and we have mothers telling us they're okay because they have a little kraft dinner in their cupboards. That's what I'm hearing, and it breaks my heart. I am here in Canada? It's not a question of more reports and talking. It's a question of whether we want to end it, whether we want to be different.
In Europe it's a philosophy. The government is responsible for all the citizens, for seeing that they are healthy, well nourished, and well housed. That comes first. Then we talk about technology, employment, all the other factors in our country. But if the foundation of your citizens is not taken care of, nothing in the country will work.