Mr. Speaker, my question actually has to do with housing. Yesterday the UN special rapporteur on adequate housing talked about Canada's track record on housing and homelessness. He talked about how shocking it was in a country as prosperous as ours to see housing and homelessness in a state of crisis. His report talked about a number of factors, but there were two specific things I would like the member to address.
First, he said that he was “disturbed to see the devastating impact of the paternalism that marks federal and provincial government legislation, policies and budgetary allocations for aboriginal people on and off reserve”.
Second, he talked about the fact of the lack of funding to non-government organizations that advocate on behalf of first nations, women and other minority groups for adequate housing. These organizations are seriously underfunded in Canada. He said that it undermines our democratic process when we do not have NGOs that can actually advocate in a democratic way for people who are perhaps facing homelessness and the housing crisis. I wonder if the member could address those two questions.