Obviously that's an enormous question. I think overall one thing that I have noticed in the past number of years is perhaps a lack of respect for people who are poor. I think it stems from a certain blaming that happens. Poor people are blamed for being poor, essentially, and I think the first thing that has to be done in any strategy to address poverty is to start seeing people's capacities and assets.
I don't want to be political either, but just coming to my mind is perhaps one example, I feel, of this viewpoint. It is the closing of prison-based farming programs. I have no disrespect for the Conservative Party; this is just one example. I feel that there is perhaps a focus on what might be called the “deserving poor” in Canada: some people are picked out as deserving help from the federal, provincial, or municipal governments, whereas others are considered not to deserve the help.
In terms of big ideas, as you were discussing, a national disability support program is something that would work in the current political climate, given the situation with federal-provincial relations. Reading through testimony of people presenting previously to the committee, I saw that a pension-bridging program for workers over the age of 55 was talked about by some of the people from Quebec last month. I think it is a really great idea, because people over the age of 55 who've been working in manufacturing don't have it very easy, and I don't think their lives are going to be very nice until they hit an age when they can get CPP.
Those are a couple.