Madam Chair, first of all, on indigenous housing, I certainly agree that there needs to be solutions led by the indigenous community. We see first-hand in Winnipeg very clearly that every effort made, whether it is by the federal government, which has spent billions of dollars on affordable housing, or otherwise, has failed. It has failed. The problem has only gotten worse.
I drive in downtown Winnipeg every day. I live just outside of Winnipeg. I lived in Winnipeg for almost 10 years. The problem has never been worse. Bus shelters have become de facto residences for people. It is everywhere. There are tent cities. I have never seen it so bad and I have been around the area for 32 years.
I also volunteer at the soup kitchen, so to speak, downtown. There are several of them. A lot of them provide temporary housing. I can see the need first-hand. I think it is important that we all take the time to volunteer at non-profits and charitable organizations that feed and house people, at least temporarily, so that we understand the failures of public policy and the impact they have.
I would agree there needs to be an indigenous-led housing strategy, because the money that has been spent thus far on affordable housing has clearly not met the need. We are seeing the need increase.
Right now in Winnipeg it is almost -30°C, so, clearly, we need to find more solutions for affordable housing for our indigenous community and for all those facing housing vulnerability.