Mr. Speaker, the child poverty rate in Toronto is among the highest in the country. To put this in perspective, there are more poor kids living in my city than constituents in any MP's riding. Tonight, half the people who will go to sleep in a Toronto emergency shelter will be children. This number does not include youth in care or young offenders in custody because, effectively, those people are also homeless.
We have delivered our country's first-ever national housing strategy. It will be the largest and longest investment in housing in this country's history. However, we cannot end homelessness if we do not focus on young people and tackle youth homelessness. We must and we will.
Indigenous youth, racialized youngsters, queer kids, foster kids, and young adults with disabilities are strong and resilient. However, our systems are breaking these children and projecting them into homelessness and onto the streets.
I ask all of Parliament, and Canadians everywhere, to build a better future for these children by building housing now. Let us give them a safe and secure place to call home. It starts with housing. It has to happen sooner than later.