Mr. Speaker, on October 19, a vigil was held in 21 cities in Quebec to raise awareness of poverty and homelessness.
As part of this event, the “Pompon minute” prize, symbolized by an old patched blanket, was awarded to the Prime Minister of Canada by the organizations and people taking part in the vigil, to make him aware of the deplorable conditions in which the poor are living.
This group is on the Hill today, in the hopes of drawing the Prime Minister's attention to the issues of homelessness and social housing. Its members hope that the Prime Minister will be so concerned about the dire circumstances many people are living in that he will take real steps to improve their living conditions.
We hope that this government will stop rationalizing the funding earmarked for social housing and the fight against homelessness and will work to facilitate access to increased funding.