Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank all the witnesses for contributing to our study.
More specifically, I want to thank Mr. Bach for insisting that we must first establish a clear definition of poverty. Surprisingly, the federal government and all its departments haven't reached an agreement on a definition of poverty in Canada. In our committee's report, this type of definition must be the basis of any strategy and objective concerning poverty.
My first questions are for the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario representative. You think the housing first program is “the” solution. We know that it helps very vulnerable people who already live in the street. However, local organizations that currently work on prevention were hit with budget cuts when it was decided that, in the major cities, 60% of the homelessness partnering strategy budget would be invested in the housing first approach.
You may know that, in Quebec, there has been a call for a long time to let the people who work in the field and who know the conditions and possible solutions choose the approach to use. The CMHC is looking at the possibility of letting the people involved choose either a broader approach or the housing first approach, according to needs in the field.
I want to know your opinion. Should we let the organizations or communities choose either a housing first approach or a broader approach?