Mr. Speaker, many of the previous speakers on this side of the House have addressed the issues of the on reserve aboriginal people. It was my intent in my address to highlight that in the Kelowna accord many of the off reserve aboriginal people's needs were ignored. Many times when aboriginal people move off reserve or move from remote communities into urban centres, they are often lost within the system. They do not have the structural props to hold them up and help them survive and thrive within an urban community.
The Friendship Centres are designed so that people who move off reserve, from remote communities to urban centres where they are facing a whole new world, are given the resources to cope with life and avoid the despair and hopelessness many of them would find if they were left there on their own.