Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Senator Dawson’s motion on Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. I thank Senator Dawson for bringing these goals to the chamber’s attention and Senator Bellemare for her words in favour of this motion. I too support this motion.

Both senators did an excellent job of explaining Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. Although I will not outline them in detail, it is important to understand what these goals are and how we, as Canadian lawmakers, can ensure they are implemented in this country.

Agenda 2030 is an international action plan for eradicating poverty worldwide. Adopted by the United Nations in 2015, its 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets are the result of intensive global consultation. The agenda’s goals are grounded in the principle that sustainable development requires a commitment to ending poverty, protecting the environment, equitable and accessible education, gender equality and access to justice. Ultimately, the agenda envisions healthy persons, healthy nations and a healthy global environment.

Canada has signalled its commitment to Agenda 2030 by creating the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy. The 2016 to 2019 strategy focuses on addressing climate change, promoting environmental health and building clean, sustainable and healthy communities. According to the fall 2017 update to the strategy, Canada has made progress towards these goals, but acknowledges that we still have a long way to go.

Canada is one of the richest countries in the world, yet one in seven Canadians continues to live in poverty. For marginalized individuals these statistics are more pronounced. One in five, or 20 per cent, of indigenous people live in houses in need of major repairs. One in four individuals with disabilities are low income, and persons with disabilities account for 41 per cent of the low-income population.

Sixty-two per cent of women aged 25 to 34 who did not finish high school have at least one child. One in five of those women are single parents.

The median income for most households is $70,336, and individuals are considered low income if they earn $23,861 or less.

By comparison, in 2010, the Parliamentary Budget Officer calculated that it costs $348,000 per year to keep one woman in a federal prison. Correctional Service Canada does not include all costs, but nevertheless still pegs the cost at more than $210,000 per year, per woman.

For too many women in prison and for those living in poverty everywhere, including the students I met during my visit to their school last month in Thunder Bay, their experiences of poverty, discrimination and victimization contribute to their criminalization. In fact, they’re inextricably intertwined.

Agenda 2030 acknowledges that eradicating poverty means eliminating inequalities. Solving discrimination, criminalization and poverty in Canada means addressing these inequalities head on.

In this regard, I want to commend the work of the All-Party Anti-Poverty Caucus, led here in the Senate by Senator Eggleton. The caucus has worked to raise awareness and generate discussion of the concept of guaranteed livable income and other poverty reduction and elimination initiatives, recognizing what can be achieved by investing in equality for all, whether it be improved mental and physical health, lower health care costs, lower crime rates, lower costs of courts, police and correctional services, and increased public safety.

Addressing these issues requires a most critical examination of the lack of investment in communities and the seemingly endless dedication of resources to constructing or renovating prisons. For example, the federal government is willing to look at spending at least $76 million to build a new penitentiary in Nunavut rather than addressing the fact that one quarter of Inuit live in houses in need of major repair.

The Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples in its northern housing study, entitled We can do Better: Housing in Inuit Nunangat, talked about this and sent a clear message about one of the most pressing public health emergencies in this country when they reported that “if we are serious about providing young Inuit with the ability to participate fully in the life of their communities, investments in housing must be a priority.”

The 2017 Sustainable Development Goals Index and Dashboard Report assesses how close all participating countries are to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Canada is ranked seventeenth.

The four countries closest to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals are Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway. It is no coincidence that they also have far lower victimization, criminalization and incarceration rates than Canada.

Agenda 2030 emphasizes that its goals cannot be achieved without a partnership amongst all countries, stakeholders and people. Indigenous nations must form an integral part of this partnership both in Canada and internationally. Agenda 2030 is an opportunity for the federal government to respect the rights it committed to protecting in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Including indigenous nations in the global partnership ensures the voices of those affected by poverty have input in how best to eradicate it. The Sustainable Development Goals Report indicated that Canada has high rates of obesity, incarceration and people living below the poverty line. Compared to other Canadians, indigenous people are acutely impacted by these issues. The calls to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission provide a road map to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. For example, the TRC’s calls to action relating to child welfare and access to education, sport and health, chart for Canada a path toward a fairer and more equal society for generations to come.

Eradicating poverty in Canada requires a serious commitment to the nation-to-nation relationship. The Senate has an essential role to ensure the government embarks on the reconciliation path and respects indigenous rights.

Doris Young, a member of the Indian Residential School Survivor Committee, identified as a key facet of reconciliation that indigenous values must be:

...respectfully acknowledged and included in the Senate’s analysis of government policies and programs. In particular, that the Senate acknowledge the Aboriginal world view of the land, what it means... what culture means... what language means... what our ancestors and spiritual connections to the land means...

Committing to Agenda 2030 can help us fulfill our promises to indigenous peoples.

Including indigenous nations in the partnership also embraces the purpose of the Sustainable Development Goals. Canada is doing poorly at achieving goals directly related to our relationship with First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples in Canada. The 2017 Sustainable Development Goals Report gave Canada a red grading for goals related to pollution, ocean and environmental health. Indigenous legal systems have robust mechanisms regarding our relationship with the environment. Canada can learn a lot about how to protect this land from these legal systems and traditions.

In its preamble, Agenda 2030 recognizes that poverty eradication is both “the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.” Eradicating poverty and protecting our planet are necessary to build a sustainable future for all Canadians. In highlighting the importance of these goals, I do not mean to diminish the difficulties involved in realizing them.

Eradicating poverty is not a simple task and should not be treated as such. Achieving this goal in Canada will require a concerted effort by all governments, stakeholders and communities. No one person, no one organization, no one government can solve climate change on their own.

As senators, we have a responsibility to hold the federal government to account for their commitments. We must all remember to fulfill our mandate in a way that makes Canada a better place for all who inhabit it.
I cannot think of a better way to meet our responsibilities as senators than by helping to eradicate poverty and protect this planet.

Thank you, meegwetch.