Mr. Speaker, my colleague raised the reality faced by low income Canadians. Canada is one of the best countries in the world in which to live. The extent to which Canadians face rates of poverty is shameful.
Time and time again we have heard that as the economy gets worse, these people will suffer the most. People will be now bounced into that reality as a result of losing their jobs, as a result of not being able to access employment insurance, as a result of not being able to get back on their feet. We are dealing right now with a historic economic crisis. We should be looking at making our taxation system responsive to that reality. That is also what we are talking about today in the context of the motion.
I appreciate the reference to first nations and education, a reality that is very urgent and in need of great attention in my region, which represents over 30 first nations. We need a number of schools in areas such as St. Theresa Point, Nelson House, God's Lake Narrows, God's River. Not only do we need schools, but we need the federal government to invest in that education. We see an alarming gap between the amount of money provinces pay per student compared to what the federal government pays for first nations students.
We need to see the federal government apply some leadership in these realities. There has been commitment to education, but we need a great deal in order to create a more just situation for first nations children in our country.