Human Resources committee  Absolutely, we need to look at our taxation system to ensure that those Canadians who can afford it are paying their fair share, and that those Canadians in need are receiving the benefits they need to afford the standard of living that Canadians should take for granted.

Human Resources committee  What's happening is tragic. People are crossing fields of snow in -20°C weather. That should not be happening. We need to look at the safe third country agreement, so that people are able to access help right at our borders, rather than having to cross through fields to get her

Human Resources committee  They've found temporary settlements so far. Usually, it takes a few weeks to get people settled, but if the numbers increase, we don't know if we'll be able to continue to see that settlement rate.

Human Resources committee  You know, when you talk about—

Human Resources committee  Thank you. When you look at basic income or any social program, it's important not to look at one individual case and say, oh, you know, there's this family who's benefiting unfairly. You have to look at the bigger picture. I work with hundreds of people, low-income people, who

Human Resources committee  Canada is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. We're lucky to be here, and we all benefit from living in this great country. We all benefit from the generosity of first nations people who welcomed Canadians from all around the world here, and if we look at how those bene

Human Resources committee  I think it's important not to take away from existing programs. Recognizing that, as I said earlier, we need a comprehensive approach to poverty reduction.

Human Resources committee  There are two main models that are usually proposed. One is a model that's universal, that just provides a flat income benefit for all people, and then there are adjustments to the taxation system to claw it back. The other would be a negative income tax model—there are different

Human Resources committee  I think we need programs that provide a basic platform of income for all households. We still need to recognize that some households may have other needs. One participant in one of the programs that I'm working with has severe disabilities. She needs medication and she needs supp

Human Resources committee  We work with over a hundred different organizations that are working on hunger, employment, mental health—it's the whole range of social justice agencies—and one thing we've tried to do is to bring those priorities together. One thing we've recognized that really needs to happe

Human Resources committee  Here in Manitoba, I chair a coalition, Make Poverty History Manitoba, and that does a lot of the work of bringing together community organizations from various sectors and helps set and develop priorities.

Human Resources committee  There have been centuries of discrimination and racism in Canada, and I think all Canadians have absorbed some of that to one degree or another, either on the receiving end or in perpetrating it. It's a part of our culture that we really need to deconstruct. In terms of employme

Human Resources committee  We've had some really good steps during the past couple of years, both in Manitoba and in Canada. With the introduction of the Canada child benefit program, you start to see a drop in food bank use already because of that. People have access to better shelters because of the rent

Human Resources committee  It takes many years to fully resettle people, and we're very early on in the process for a lot of families. Some families that are coming into Winnipeg are struggling to find good housing. When they are able to get into good housing, that becomes a foothold for their settlement.

Human Resources committee  All the programs are stretched. I don't think anybody really understood how much work it would be to bring in 25,000 people in such a short period of time. The bigger challenge is just ramping up the capacity. It's not so much the dollars that are coming in but the capacity in th