Mr. Speaker, first I would like to acknowledge my colleague, the member for Timmins—James Bay for bringing this very important emergency debate to this House. I thank him for his relentless advocacy in highlighting the issue.
This is a national emergency. Many of the members spoke about their specific experiences, what they are seeing in their own communities. In the community of Vancouver East, we have perhaps the largest urban aboriginal community in the Lower Mainland. We have a community called the Downtown Eastside, where we struggle with these issues each and every day. We have poverty beyond measure, and a lack of housing. We have aboriginal women who have lost their children, and the only reason is because they cannot get safe, secure, affordable housing. They cannot get their children back. We have endless tragedies that happen. Despair is beyond measure, in that sense.
Yet, in spite of all of that, we have incredible resilience as well. What I am hearing today is the goodwill from every single member of this House to work together to address this as a national issue.
I want to ask whether I can count on every single member in this House, across all parties, to come together and bring forward solutions for each and every one in our own respective communities, to put resources in it, to put in a team of people across government, to work collaboratively with the local MPs to find solutions, so that nobody has to lose a life again and we do not ever have to have this debate in the House again.