Thank you.
Good morning. I'd like to thank the committee for this opportunity on behalf of my colleague, Dr. Courtneidge, and me.
Canada Without Poverty, officially the national anti-poverty organization, is an incorporated, not-for-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the elimination of poverty in Canada. Founded in 1971 and based in Ottawa, Canada Without Poverty is governed by a board of directors who individually have experienced poverty at some time in their lives.
Our directors span our country from St. John's to Victoria, and from the largest city of Toronto to one of Canada's smallest and most remote communities, the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation village of Old Crow, Yukon. The lived experience of our directors and members informs our mission, vision, values, and work.
Poverty, what Gandhi called the worst form of violence, is an affront to the values of fairness and justice and the inclusion of all persons in Canadian society. Accordingly, we envision poverty's eradication in Canada, not its mere reduction. By promoting poverty eradication as a human rights obligation with reference to Canada's international human rights commitments, we envision eradication being reached through the exercise of political will as well as of corporate social responsibility and community engagement.