Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, [English translation not provided]. Marci cho, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, Maclean's magazine reported that the federal government is setting up an advisory committee on poverty. This team will take the lead role in creating a poverty reduction strategy.
It is made up of top researchers as well as experts in the fields of business and social services, and significantly, people who have actually lived with poverty in this country, and it will evaluate ideas that come out of public consultation.
The committee's work will also be tied to the federal government's national housing strategy. The Minister of Families, Children and Social Development has said the federal government must have a vision on poverty reduction, and ways to meet both poverty and progress in fighting it. Meeting this need has been made a top priority.
Mr. Speaker, this is what we need to see in our anti-poverty work: dedicated initiatives supported by significant funding to make meaningful change. Maclean's magazine estimates that as many as 3 million Canadians live in poverty, and here in the Northwest Territories, our poverty rates are some of the worst.
From 2002 to 2014, the number of people living in poverty in the Northwest Territories actually outstripped the population growth by 11.4 per cent. That's not growth, Mr. Speaker. That's going backwards.
I want to again point out that the government initiatives reported in the new anti-poverty investments aren't necessarily new or significantly targeted towards anti-poverty work.
Mr. Speaker, to actually reduce poverty, we need projects that target those living in poverty. Regular Members have asked for these types of focused investments, including $500,000 to increase anti-poverty funding, enhancements to small community employment programs, and increased funding for Arctic Energy Alliance to make their programs accessible to small community residents and low-income families.
As it stands, Mr. Speaker, the government's response to poverty in the Northwest Territories is not sufficient to meet the challenges our residents are facing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.