Thank you for the question.
We have a persistent and stubborn poverty problem in this country. It has been going on for more than a decade. We know that there are up to 4.5 million people in this country—that's all the people in the Maritimes, times two—who are poor. We know that every month in this country 900,000 people use food banks to make ends meet. We know that there are at least 250,000 homeless people in this country, so let me ask you: what is Canada's record on poverty, homelessness, and hunger?
I would say that the only answer we can give at this point is a failing grade, and not because poverty, homelessness, and hunger are worse here than in Zimbabwe or Somalia, but because we are—and we just heard it from the Governor of the Bank of Canada—a wealthy, rich, and stable economy. We have the means and the money to make these social issues disappear.
Not only do we have the means, we have the legal obligation—not just the moral obligation but the legal obligation—to do so. Why? Because we've signed and ratified international human rights treaties that are clear, treaties that clearly say we have an obligation to ensure the most disadvantaged people in this country have adequate housing, an adequate standard of living, and adequate food.