Human Resources committee  The cabinet committee on poverty reduction has disbanded. When we released the strategy, we moved on to a results table, which I chaired: the Minister of Education, the Minister of Community and Social Services, and the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. We have two outside members: Michael Mendelson from the Caledon Institute, and Mark Chamberlain who is on the National Council of Welfare and also chairs the Hamilton poverty roundtable.

Human Resources committee  It's inter-ministerial. We've identified a lead minister and partner ministers in every initiative, and we call them to our results table to give us an update on how they're moving to achieve the goal, the job they've been given.

Human Resources committee  It's all government. It is all of government working together.

Human Resources committee  I have to say I haven't heard anything about that, which probably suggests we aren't, but I would be interested in learning more about it if you think it's something that would improve the well-being of people in our province.

Human Resources committee  Or man.

Human Resources committee  That's correct.

Human Resources committee  Yes, I can. If you turn to page 16 and 17, it breaks down the components. The minimum wage increases are in black, the bottom bar. The Ontario child benefit is the top white bar. Other credits and transfers include federal--so it's all itemized there. I just want to point out that this chart and the one on the other side of the page shows the increase in income, not the total income.

Human Resources committee  It's been a bit confusing, yes. This is the increase in income that they will have.

Human Resources committee  No, no. It was your family. What I'm saying is that some families have the capacity to do that. Others do not. Our question, then, is whether, as our collective responsibility, we're going to let the kids of the families that do not have that capacity repeat that intergenerational cycle.

Human Resources committee  Thank you. You've given me a lot to respond to in a very short period of time. I think the first point you made is that poverty is about more than just money. That's absolutely true. We really are concerned about poverty of opportunity. That's why, when we actually constructed our strategy, we decided to report back on eight different aspects of poverty.

Human Resources committee  That's right. That's a lot of money.

Human Resources committee  Let me make a couple of comments on that. Let's never forget that jobs matter when it comes to poverty. If you look at any statistics on who's poor, it's people without jobs who are poor. So creating jobs is very much part of poverty reduction. As we move forward on our five-year target to reduce the number of kids living in poverty—

Human Resources committee  That's why we have taken on this poverty reduction strategy, because we are determined to start moving in the right direction. I want to refer the members of the committee to an article that really inspired me. It's called “Million-Dollar Murray”. I don't know if you've been introduced to “Million-Dollar Murray”.

Human Resources committee  Absolutely. That is a perfect example.

Human Resources committee  Yes, you can. Let me just clarify one thing you said. This strategy lifts the standard of living, the income, of all kids living in poverty. All kids living in poverty will be significantly better off as a result of these initiatives. Twenty-five percent of them will be lifted out of poverty altogether.