Right now, Canada has the 10th-highest GDP in the world. Yet, one in every eight families nationwide struggles to put food on the table, and food bank usage across the country continues to rise.
Something must be done about poverty and food insecurity in Canada.
Thousands of people taking to the streets for the Global Climate Strike helped make the environment a policy issue for every major party. Poverty can also become a more significant issue if people took to the streets with Chew On This!, Canada’s largest anti-poverty advocacy campaign.
If you are a part of the nearly 40 per cent of post-secondary students in Canada who experience food insecurity, or one of the five million people in Canada who live in poverty, the rising cost of living is making an already bad situation worse.
In August 2018, the federal government took an essential first step to help those experiencing poverty by releasing its first-ever poverty reduction strategy, Opportunity for All.
Opportunity for All introduced an official poverty line and a National Advisory Council on Poverty. But its goal to reduce poverty by 50 per cent in 2030 is only just above the lowest target to meet the United Nations’ first Sustainable Development Goal.
Additionally, Opportunity for All was mostly a review of measures the government had already taken, rather than concrete action.
What we need is the implementation of a comprehensive, fully funded, human rights-based strategy to tackle poverty.
Poverty doesn’t just limit people’s potential—it’s a violation of people’s human rights. Section 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights establishes the right to an adequate standard of living.
Poverty also has a price tag: it costs Ontario alone $33 billion a year through healthcare, criminal justice, and loss of income tax revenue. For these reasons, grassroots anti-poverty campaigns like Chew on This! are incredibly important.
Organized by Citizens for Public Justice and Canada Without Poverty, campaigners will be handing out postcards on Oct. 17 to be sent directly to the prime minister’s office. These postcards will ask that the Government of Canada honour its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of eliminating poverty by 2030.
Close to 100 groups across the country, including Carleton’s Food Centre (CFC), are already taking part in this campaign. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the CFC will be tabling in University Centre, where you can learn more about the services they offer and sign a postcard.
Poverty continues to violate the rights of millions in Canada, and significant action must be taken. Let’s use this opportunity to show those in poverty that the country is behind them, and their government cares about their situation. It’s time for us to put dignity in the spotlight and commit to a poverty-free Canada.
Feature image by Samuel Pevalin.
