Mr. Speaker, I salute the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Manitoba office, on its 10th anniversary. Last night, Stephen Lewis topped off celebrations speaking to more than 1,000 well-wishers.
For 10 years CCPA-Manitoba has been publishing high quality research that has had a real impact on the lives of people. It grew out of the work of professors Errol Black and Jim Silver who, together with Wayne Anthony, initiated the project that became CCPA-Manitoba in November 1997.
As an MP for the exact same time as this think tank has been in existence, I can testify how difficult it would be to do my job without the work of CCPA and how central it is to the pursuit of social justice. It was born at a crucial moment when consecutive Liberal and Conservative federal governments put corporate tax cuts ahead of community and equality rights.
Without the research of CCPA it would have been impossible to counter the regressive agendas of health care privatization, housing cutbacks and growing poverty. Through it the voices of the inner city and aboriginal peoples have been included in the research of today.
I congratulate Executive Director Shauna McKinnon and all members of the Manitoba CCPA.