Good morning and thank you for the opportunity to address this committee.
My name is Harriett McLachlan and I am the deputy director of Canada Without Poverty. As you just said, I am joined today by Canada Without Poverty's legal education and outreach coordinator, Michèle Biss.
For those of you who are not aware of our organization, Canada Without Poverty is a non-partisan, not-for-profit and charitable organization dedicated to ending poverty in Canada. For nearly 50 years, Canada Without Poverty has been championing the human rights of individuals experiencing poverty, and for our entire existence, our board of directors has been comprised entirely of people with a lived experience of poverty.
As this committee knows, to relieve poverty in Canada we must identify and address systemic discrimination against people in poverty. The best way to do so is by hearing directly from those with a lived experience.
We approach poverty from the perspective that as a signatory to the sustainable development goals, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other human rights treaties, Canada is obliged under international human rights law to meet the rights to housing, food, work, health and an adequate standard of living.
It will come as no surprise to those on this committee that poverty is a significant problem in Canada. Consider the numbers. According to the low-income measure, 4.8 million people live in poverty, including 1.2 million children. Poverty, homelessness and food insecurity disproportionally impact marginalized groups across the country, particularly persons with disabilities, single parents, women, racialized persons, indigenous peoples, and LGBTQ2S youth.
You are also no doubt aware that high levels of poverty, food insecurity and inadequate housing significantly impede Canada's economic growth. Socio-economic disparities account for 20% of total annual health cost spending and poverty has been consistently linked with poorer health, higher health care costs, greater demand on social and community services, reduced productivity and diminished educational and economic activity and output.