Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.

My name is Kate Horton. I'm the president and CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada.

Mr. Chair, when a child becomes sick, the whole family hurts, and we know that when families stay together, sick children get stronger. This is where Ronald McDonald House Charities across Canada comes in.

RMHC operates an essential mission in Canada today. We are the only national organization enabling access to Canada's 16 children's hospitals. RMHC provides essential services that remove barriers, strengthen families and promote healing when children need health care.

As of today, RMHC operates 16 houses and 18 family rooms across Canada, supporting over 18,000 families in 2023 from over 2,400 different communities across Canada. Families count on RMHC to support their mental health and well-being through a warm meal, a built-in empathetic community of support and a place where parents and siblings can be together during a most challenging and unexpected time.

We provide not just accommodation but meals, education, schooling, peer support and mental health programming—truly so much more. These services provide a sense of community and relief from social isolation so that families don't have to navigate their treatment journey alone.

The reality is that out-of-pocket expenses for families who must travel to receive medical care for their sick child can be up to $20,000 in the first month alone. The good news is that an independent financial analysis conducted by RBC showed that last year alone RMHC saved Canadian families over $57 million in out-of-pocket expenses related to their child's illness. These costs include accommodation, food and gasoline, as a few examples.

Despite the political differences that may exist around the table, we are heartened by the amount of cross-party support that we have received over the years. As an example, just last month, on May 8 our entire organization and the families we support were so pleased to see such a warm welcome for RMHC during McHappy Day in the House of Commons, with cross-party participation and member statements in support of our mission. Days like McHappy Day on May 8 truly demonstrate both Parliament and Canada at their best.

However, Mr. Chair, the challenge, as you may know, is that there is always a need to do more. In budget 2024, we were pleased to see that GICB, the green and inclusive community buildings program, was recapitalized with an additional $500 million over five years. The GICB program has helped make our Ottawa house expansion possible and, as announced just yesterday, our Halifax house expansion as well. This funding has been critical to ensure these houses can open on time and expand their service to even more families.

Despite this, RMHC is looking for a more durable and permanent capital funding solution, not only for us and the thousands of families who currently do not make it off an RMHC wait-list, but for all organizations like ours that are providing temporary housing and helping vulnerable populations. We believe that this is a critical gap in Canada's infrastructure landscape.

Through our engagements with government over the last few years, we understand that there is broad support across all departments and political parties to review capital funding options for temporary housing. The reality is that organizations like RMHC and others are a square peg in a round hole. We don't fit in any specific ministry, despite having met with many different ministries and Crown corporations over the years. We believe that Infrastructure Canada is ideally positioned to include temporary housing in its national infrastructure assessment and to help work with us to develop new funding programs.

Addressing these needs proactively will make a significant impact on the demand for temporary housing, and our reality is that, with escalating demand, RMHC needs to expand across Canada to grow our current number of bedrooms. To serve more Canadians, RMHC alone is projecting over $450 million in capital costs over the next 10 years.

Mr. Chair and members of the committee, we need your support to fill this critical gap in Canada's infrastructure landscape by creating a specialized capital funding program for temporary housing initiatives. By investing in these essential and critical services, together we can ensure that all Canadian families, especially the most vulnerable, receive the support they need during their most challenging days.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your questions.