A core component of our approach is enshrining the right to housing in law and starting work now with a goal of ending homelessness in Canada within a decade. In a country as wealthy as Canada, there is no excuse to leave any Canadian living in poverty without a safe roof over their head.

Our affordable housing strategy will include measures to support Canadians at risk of becoming homeless, take the lead from communities about local needs, and adopt a “housing first” approach. To help people find an affordable home in the long term, we will support the creation of more social housing and other affordable options.

Poor health and poverty are linked and a national pharmacare program will mean that all Canadians can access the prescription medicine they need, regardless of their income, or address. Better access to mental health and addictions support will also form a key part of our approach to tackling poverty.

New Democrats will work with the provinces to launch a national basic income pilot project in addition to continuing Ontario’s program, in order to gather data about this approach to tackling income precarity. Developing a national, public, universal child care program is also critical for lifting women and their families out of poverty and is an important way to give all kids a good start in early learning.

Finally, making sure that all Canadians can access healthy, affordable food is a cornerstone of our Canadian food strategy. A national school nutrition program will make sure that no child enters their classroom hungry. Children should always have access to healthy food and the ability to concentrate on learning. In addition, New Democrats will ensure that a reformed Nutrition North program is able to better respond to the needs of Northern families, to put an end to chronic food insecurity in the North.

From A New Deal for People, retrieved 2019-09-22.

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