That being said, I've very much appreciated some of the areas into which we have moved and in which we continue to assist.
I mentioned the child advocacy centres. It wasn't just a coincidence that I put that in. On my travels across this country I heard about this concept and a description of what these child advocacy centres do. They're one-stop places in a child friendly atmosphere where there are all the services for a child who has been sexually exploited. The services come to the child as opposed to the child going everywhere else.
I may have indicated to you, and I certainly have to others, that I remember hearing about this in Edmonton. I thought it was an excellent idea. I was pleased to hear that one opened in St. Catharines, which is next door to my constituency. I remember visiting it and frankly it was just after I'd heard about the one in Edmonton. When I asked how they were financing it and how they did it, they told me they were getting funding from police services and some of the municipalities and that there were charitable donations, but that there was no funding at the federal or provincial levels.
So I was very pleased, and I have said to my colleague Mr. Flaherty how pleased I am, that in two of his recent budgets he's included funding for child advocacy centres. Again, these are steps forward. Somebody could make the argument that these are generally provincial services that are provided, but I'm pleased that the federal government has done that.
I indicated the different funds to you as well and said that we have been supportive of these. I did mention the national anti-drug strategy, for instance. All of these are meant to get the message out to people to not get involved with this kind of activity and that if they do get involved with it, we want to help.
If the Minister of Public Safety were here, he would indicate to you that tens of millions of dollars go towards assisting individuals with mental health issues in the federal penitentiary system. I'm supportive of that, because some day those individuals will be released, so you want them to get the treatment and the help they need. I know that's a priority for my colleague, the Minister of Public Safety, and certainly among the issues within my purview, these are a priority as well.
Thank you for the question.