Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you are aware, yesterday in the Great Hall of this Assembly, the Social Planning Coalition, along with the Standing Committee on Social Programs, hosted a session of the poverty game. Mr. Speaker, it is a board game in the style of Monopoly but, as should be apparent, it involves very little money.

The Social Planning Coalition approached the committee a couple of weeks ago with suggestions that we host this game in the Great Hall. We thought it was a great idea. The purpose was to heighten awareness of poverty and around the issue of income support. It also gave Members and other invited guests from the community a chance to see the kinds of decisions income support recipients are faced with on a monthly basis.

Mr. Speaker, it was enlightening to say the least. The character I played, a 36-year old mom with four kids, ran out of money two-and-a-half weeks into the first month.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, the Standing Committee on Social Programs has lobbied hard for additional money for income support. Last year, along with the rest of my colleagues, the members of the Accountability and Oversight Committee, we were able to see $700,000 in funding restored to the income support budget. Mr. Speaker, we continue that effort and tomorrow we will see if the government has been listening.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you indeed to all my colleagues who came out to support the Social Planning Coalition.

-- Applause