I have to agree with you that one of the impediments to addressing poverty systematically and seriously is the undermining of the capacity of the government to undertake public provision through the tax cuts, not just over the last two governments, but over the last, I think, 10 to 15 years. We cannot engage in a comprehensive anti-poverty strategy at the federal level, or even at the provincial level, without the participation of the federal level of government, and we cannot do it if we continue to lose the capacity through tax cuts.
I want to say a couple of things also along those lines. One is that you did say that from 1989, when the Parliament of Canada made a commitment to eliminating child poverty, until now, we haven't seen any significant progress. What we have seen is a change in the composition of who is poor. The profile of who is poor has changed, and that's why I think it is critical for us to talk about the experience of those who are disproportionately impacted by poverty. Racialized groups are disproportionately impacted by poverty. If we do not address that issue, it will have much broader social implications. This is what the youth violence report said very clearly. It's not just an issue of equal citizenship; it's also an issue of the possibility of social distress, first within those communities, but later within the rest of society. I don't think we can look at simply the cost in terms of dollars; I think we need to also look at the cost in terms of social cohesion.
I have to say I'm disappointed that this issue has not been aired to the extent that it needs to. I'm particularly disappointed that the federal government has not addressed that issue to this point.