Thank you, Chair. Good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I hope you're all doing okay in these unsettled and unsettling times.
I am joined by my colleague Sasha McNicoll, who's our senior specialist on policy. We'll both be answering questions.
Community Food Centres Canada is a national organization that creates vibrant community food centres and programs in low-income neighbourhoods across the country. Through our more than 200 organizational partners, we support people living in poverty and food insecurity to eat well, find community and work towards social justice.
It will come as no surprise to this committee that COVID has exacerbated some of the deep social inequities that the communities we work in have grappled with for a long time. Food insecurity is up a shocking 39%, meaning that one in seven Canadians now struggles to put food on the table. This corroborates what we are hearing from our partners who have seen the needs in their communities skyrocket. For example, The Depot Community Food Centre in Montreal had to move into a hockey arena in order to meet the needs of people seeking support.
The federal government has responded to this emergency with a $200-million emergency food security fund, which, along with other private funds, has helped us provide good food for half a million Canadians. In the long term, however, we know that providing food through charity will not solve this problem. Reducing poverty by boosting incomes is the key to reducing food insecurity in Canada. For example, the Canada child benefit has reduced severe food insecurity among families with children by 30%. Upon reaching the age of 65 and becoming eligible for seniors benefits like old age security, the guaranteed income supplement and CPP, people's risks of food insecurity decrease by a full 50%.
It is now time to build on these achievements in order to create a just recovery from COVID and to continue the work toward a 50% reduction in poverty, as laid out in Canada's poverty reduction strategy.
Our pre-budget submission proposes two ways to help us get there. The first is to make the disability tax credit refundable. To this end, Community Food Centres Canada was pleased to see a Canada disability benefit included in the Speech from the Throne. There are 2.7 million Canadians living with severe or very severe disability. These Canadians are more likely to be unemployed, and 30% live below the low-income measure. Because the disability tax credit is non-refundable, however, it only serves to decrease tax owing and is therefore of little use to people with disabilities living on low incomes who pay no or little income tax. Making the disability tax credit refundable would provide low-income Canadians with severe and prolonged disabilities with up to $1,300 per year. This may not seem like a lot, but for a single person on disability support living in Ontario, it will represent a 9% increase in their income. The federal government should also look into increasing the disability tax credit.
Our second recommendation is to explore the creation of a tax credit for working-age adults. As I mentioned, the Canada child benefit and seniors benefits have decreased food insecurity among families with children and seniors, but for single adults, poverty has increased. They also make up 43% of all food-insecure Canadians. Working-age adults are increasingly being trapped in poverty by low-wage jobs and insufficient social assistance rates. Two-thirds of food-insecure people get most of their income from employment, but the kinds of jobs available do not pay enough to provide a comfortable and dignified life. Indeed, many of the top growing sectors over the last decade—including retail, accommodation and food services—provide the lowest-quality jobs in terms of wages and benefits.
Many low-income adults rely on provincial and territorial social assistance, which in no jurisdiction in Canada comes anywhere near the poverty line. In Ontario, for example, a single person on welfare receives $733 a month, which is about one-third of the poverty line. In order to be successful in reducing poverty by 50% by 2030, Canada's poverty reduction strategy will need to provide more significant support for single adults aged 18 to 64. A working-age tax credit that would bolster incomes for low-wage workers and people living on social assistance would also create a higher income floor beneath which no Canadian could fall.
For moral and economic reasons, we want to build a society focused on thriving, but we also want to do this because greater equity will help inoculate us against future shocks. Creating an income floor that no one in this country can fall below is the right thing to do. Making the disability tax credit refundable and developing a refundable working-age tax credit will have a significant material impact on this goal.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to be here today to discuss how to reduce food insecurity and poverty in Canada. Sasha and I look forward to answering any of your questions.