Advocacy & Issues 05/28/2025 Yesterday’s Throne Speech set out an ambitious vision: to build the strongest economy in the G7. It comes at a time of heightened concern about national security, economic resilience, and shifting global forces. At Community Food Centres Canada, our focus is on two key themes raised in the Speech: affordability and economic growth. We are a national voice on food insecurity. Today, 10 million people in Canada live in food-insecure households, and severe food insecurity is on the rise. Across our network of community food organizations, we continue to hear the same urgent stories: workers skipping meals, families choosing between rent and groceries, and children going to bed hungry. These are not fringe cases. They are signs of a broken social contract in a wealthy country. We believe economic growth can support well-being, but only when its benefits are shared. Progress that leaves people hungry is not real progress. Over the past two decades, Canada’s economy has grown. But so has food insecurity. As productivity, GDP and the number of millionaires increased, so too did the number of people turning to food banks and emergency meal programs. A strong economy on paper means little if people can’t afford to eat. We need targeted affordability measures that go far beyond simple tax cuts, which do little for the lowest-income Canadians. Tax cuts constrain public investment at a time when bold action is needed. Without meaningful investments in income supports and targeted affordability measures, the government’s vision risks deepening inequality. Canada produces enough food and generates enough wealth to ensure no one goes hungry. But those resources are not distributed equitably. Indigenous Peoples, Black and racialized communities, women, and people with disabilities face higher rates of food insecurity—not because they are unproductive, but because they are undervalued and underpaid. If the government wants to build an economy that works for everyone, it must pair growth with equity. That means investing in housing, the care economy and income security, as well as skilled trades. Today, many full time workers struggle to put food on the table. Any vision for building a stronger Canada must include improving the economic standing of these workers. Those who care for our children, support our elders, and keep our communities running deserve fair wages. This national moment calls for bold action. Yes, we need large-scale infrastructure projects in areas such as housing, but just as urgently, we need investment in public systems that translate economic growth into real, lived security. To that end, we call on the federal government to take concrete steps in the months ahead. This includes: Introducing new income measures that match the scale of existing need, such as a Groceries and Essentials Benefit and an expanded Canada Workers Benefit. Strengthening foundational programs such as Employment Insurance. Ensuring economic growth is underpinned by the creation of good jobs, and taking action to eliminate precarity in our labour market. Upholding Indigenous food sovereignty and ensuring Indigenous communities can harvest, hunt, and fish according to their traditions and rights. A country capable of building homes at scale, leading the G7, and rearming its military can surely ensure no one goes hungry. Any national economic plan worth discussing let alone implementing must guarantee the basics: a fair income and healthy food for all. Dignified access to food is a basic human right. Canada has signed on to respect, protect and fulfill this right. We are ready to work with the government and partners across the country to finally deliver on this critical commitment. Together, we can build solutions rooted in justice, compassion, and shared prosperity—a vision for the Canada we all deserve.