On October 17, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, women who have a lived experience of poverty spoke to a group of parliamentarians, social justice organizations and community members at the Conference Centre in Ottawa to make sure a clear message was heard: poverty still exists, and there is no reason for this in a country as wealthy as Canada. A crucial next step is to develop a federal plan to end poverty.
We are lucky to live in Canada, a prosperous nation. Sadly, Canadians not being able to afford food exists today. In fact, close to 900,000 individuals turn to food banks for assistance each month across the country -- a number equivalent to the entire population of New Brunswick. This is unacceptable.