moved for leave to introduce Bill C-253, An Act to develop a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income.
Uqaqtittiji, I am pleased to introduce a bill to address severe poverty and food security in Canada. I thank my seconder, the member for Winnipeg Centre, for her fierce advocacy in originating this work.
Nunavummiut are experiencing the worst food security crisis in Canada. In Iqaluit, food insecurity is at 79% for young children. This means that four out of every five Inuit children are going hungry every day. Visits to the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre are at an all-time high. When the Liberals abruptly cancelled the ICFI's hamlet food voucher program, visits went from 100 per day to an astonishing 500 per day.
My bill, if passed, would require the federal government to develop a plan toward a guaranteed livable basic income. If passed, it would give back human dignity to those suffering in poverty.
Canada is a wealthy country. Let us create policies for that wealth to be shared among the poorest in our communities.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)