Mr. Speaker, as winter approaches the chronic problem of homelessness and the plight of the homeless escalate to an acute level.
The mayor of Toronto's homelessness action task force has issued interim findings which include the disturbing fact that 19% or 5,300 of the homeless people are children.
The task force is setting out guidelines for planning a strategy to break the cycle of homelessness. While programs such as Out of the Cold and shelters such as the Moss Park Armouries can offer band-aid solutions to this increasing problem, many indicators focus on the need for a co-ordinated effort involving all levels of government to attack the underlying causes of this problem.
The responsibilities of the federal, provincial and municipal governments for income, housing supply and health issues need to be clarified.
Although the problem is most acute in Toronto and other large cities, there are homeless people and caring community activists in my riding in Barrie and Bradford—