If I might, I will begin with Philip Cross, former economic analyst from Statistics Canada.
Whenever the subject of poverty arises, the question we ask ourselves is what should the government do about it, as though we automatically assume that government is the solution.
At the previous meeting, I looked at the data on inequality in Canada and found that inequality grew most in the province of Ontario over the last 15 years, which might seem surprising to some people, because this is a province where the government has taken an extremely active role, instituting massive so-called stimulative deficits, growing government spending almost without fail faster than the combined rate of inflation and population growth in every year of the last decade, expanding new programs and initiatives, $36 billion in green subsidies to windmills and solar panels, and so on.
One would think that if an expansive government were a solution to inequality in Ontario, you would have seen a decline, but in this province, we've seen the largest increase of any others.
I wonder if Mr. Cross might comment on things that government is doing to cause poverty in the first place, rather than simply solutions it could offer after the harm has been inflicted.