Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), our study on the federal contribution to reducing poverty in Canada will commence.
It's great to be here in Yellowknife today. I want to take a second to thank all the witnesses for being here. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules as you come to testify.
Very quickly, we've been doing a study on poverty over the last year and a half. We've been east, and we've certainly been out west this week. It was suggested that we come north, and I'm glad we have. We were in Whitehorse yesterday and Yellowknife today, and we are heading back to Edmonton tomorrow.
It has been great to listen to what's going on in the communities. I think we all agree that when we're in Ottawa it's kind of hard to know what's really going on in the country, unless we're out talking to people in their respective communities. So it is good for us to be here.
I'll start with you, Mr. McDonald, for seven minutes. We'll go all the way across for seven minutes, and then we'll look at moving around the room for questions. We'll continue to move that way until we hit 10 a.m., or until people have no more questions, although it has been my experience with politicians that we're never short of questions.
I'll stop talking and turn it over to the witnesses.
Mr. McDonald, you're with Alternatives North. We're looking forward to hearing a bit about your organization, what you do, and maybe some recommendations for us as a committee to take back to the government. Thank you for being here. The floor is yours. You have seven minutes.