Mr. Speaker, 22 years ago this month, Mr. Ed Broadbent introduced a landmark motion to end child poverty by the year 2000. His motion received unanimous support in the House, but over two decades later, the number of children living in poverty today is at almost the same level as it was in 1989.
In fact, out of the 24 richest nations in the world, Canada ranks 17th in caring for its children in poverty and 38% of food bank users are children. There are more food banks in Canada today than there are McDonald's. One in nine Canadian children lives in poverty. My province of British Columbia just took the dubious honour of having the highest rate of child poverty in Canada for the eighth year in a row.
Research by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in B.C. shows the cost of poverty is between $8.1 billion and $9.2 billion every year. Investing in a poverty reduction plan would cost only half of that.
This holiday season I urge all members to support organizations of their choice, such as local food banks or the United Way, but if we want to give true meaning to the spirit of Christmas, then we need to act here in Parliament right now to end poverty.