There is a big housing crisis in Métis communities. We haven't had a house built in our communities for probably 12 or 15 years. The province is now embarking upon social housing, and we'll see where that takes us. There is clearly a shortfall. There's overcrowding, and it has a direct impact on families and what the women can do in their own households.
Housing is a growing factor, and it includes a health factor. Over the last four years we've done Métis-specific research, because Canada and the province do not have statistics on Métis people. You have it for first nations, but you don't have it for Métis.
The statistics show us that the Métis have surpassed most Canadians on chronic illnesses. We have now surpassed first nations on chronic illnesses, due to the lack of health programs. We have no health programs in our communities.
People might not believe what I'm saying here, but I encourage people to come to see our communities. Because of this jurisdictional limbo, nobody provides programs in our communities. We're on our own. We have to travel great distances even for health care. Sometimes we have to travel 100 miles just to see a doctor. We also have to pay for it ourselves. As you can see from the statistics I gave you regarding income levels, it's very difficult. Some people avoid seeing a doctor when they should see one. But they can't afford it. So there is a health crisis in our communities today.
On housing, I'm envisioning that in our province of Manitoba, for example, there might be some small fortune coming under the new housing the premier has announced. But we still have a long way to go.