Madam Speaker, I would be happy to respond to the question. As indicated by the hon. member for Crowfoot, we did work together on the justice committee. In fact, I remember us having a debate, I think at the University of Ottawa, on the proposed legislation. I think it is helpful to always hear two sides of the argument. When I talk about a balanced approach, I like to think that sometimes we manage to find that ground.
He raises an important question. We know that the economic policies implemented by the government have resulted in more children and more families in this country living in poverty than was the situation when the government took office. We know that despite a pledge to eradicate child poverty by the year 2000, in fact the gap between the haves and the have nots has increased. When I talk about poverty and community, I mean more than simply ensuring that all children have the same material goods.
I would like to talk about what is happening in my part of the country, which I think is happening in other parts of the country as well.
If we look at children and children who are at risk of committing crime, the most important thing we can do is to make sure that they have a sense of community and community values. If children belong to a community, then they respect that community. Children need to have a sense of place, a sense of connectedness to place and they need to have a sense of history. We know that in the maritimes and I think other communities know it as well.
Children in my community know who their grandfather and their great grandfather was and they have an extended family. While they may not have all the material things that are necessary, they have that sense of value from the community.
We are creating a nation of migrant workers. That is what the economic policies have done. People from the east have to move to the west and people from the north have to move to the south and leave behind their values, their communities and their sense of place. As that happens children are affected. It is serious when that happens to children.
There are two kinds of poverty. There is the poverty that happens to a child when they are deprived of their community and their community values. When we say to people in certain parts of the country which are not in the centre “Too bad about your economic problems. Move.”, we do something to those children.
There are also the material things. There are children who live without adequate shelter. We know that homelessness is increasing in this country. There are children who live without adequate food. I commend my colleague, the member for Crowfoot, who introduced a motion concerning headstart programs to make sure that children in this country have breakfast before they go to school.
We know that without those things children have no reason to have input into their community. Why would they respect the laws and values of the community if the community does not respect the needs and requirements of those children?
They are linked, and I thank the hon. member for the question.