Everyone in Canada has the right to a safe, secure, adequate and affordable home. The federal government is obliged in international law to ensure people have a home. TEN That, in short form, is the international right to adequate housing as set out in numerous treaties and other legal instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination .

As Canada’s economy has boomed, the richest Canadians have seen their share of overall income increase. The richest 5% of Canadians take more than 25% of total income – more than the total income of the bottom 60% (low, moderate and middle-income individuals). Women, racialized minorities and Aboriginal people are over-represented among the poor. In percentage terms, there are 14% more women living in poverty than men. As noted above, the statistics for racialized minorities show a similar disproportionate burden. A higher percentage of Aboriginal people, both on and off-reserve, live in poverty than the rest of the population.