Finance committee  We do get money for rent supplements through the federal government, but those dollars are scheduled for termination in 2011 and withdrawal over time, so that's a huge concern for us. We need money to build more social housing. We need dollars to increase the rent-geared-to-income subsidies that allow people to live in social housing.

Finance committee  I'd be happy to. To answer your first question in terms of what more needs to be done by way of affordable housing, in our region we have 13,000-plus families on a waiting list, and if they signed up today, by virtue of our turnover they'd have to wait 21 years to get social housing.

Finance committee  I'm not an historian on social housing.

Finance committee  It falls far short of the actual costs of child care. Home child care is an option, but we encourage families and the government to invest in regulated child care, where children are stimulated, where they're provided with a healthy lunch, where they learn to interact with each other to solve problems and in essence form the foundations that are important for later life.

Finance committee  Exactly.

Finance committee  Thank you, Etan. As you know, 2009 has not been kind to many Canadian families. Plant closures, factory layoffs, and fluctuating markets have removed much of the economic security that Canadian families deserve, and our members are seeing the results first-hand on a daily basis.