Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his question.
As a parent, as a responsible Canadian and as a former teacher, any form of child poverty is intolerable. The Minister of Finance mentioned that when he presented his budget.
The 1.5 million Canadian children that live in poverty are a blight on all of us. However, the situation was not created overnight and it cannot be repaired overnight. The minister has made it very clear that it is a serious concern of the government. However, unless we get the deficit under control, unless we get the economy back in shape and get everything in order, there will be more than 1.5 million children in poverty.
We are trying to do what good government does. It is a balancing act. It is repairing the deficit damage which will hurt more children, while slowly turning the corner to help as many children as we can.
It is a start and we will do much better as the economy gets stronger and stronger.