That poverty exists at all in Canada, the world's ninth wealthiest nation, is cause for shame. Fixing the problem isn't a matter of charity; it's a matter of justice.

That poverty is found at all in Canada – the ninth wealthiest nation on Earth in 2007, with 1.1 million “millionaire households” – ought to be cause for widespread shame. But poverty we have, manifested by the food bank, the shelter, the Plexiglass panels of the welfare and unemployment office.

Depending on how poverty is gauged (scandalously, Canada does not have official poverty measures), as many as 6.2 million Canadians may suffer what Gandhi called “the worst form of violence.” If we use, as does the OECD for international comparison, the measure of 50 per cent of median income, then Canada’s poverty rate around 2006 was about 13 per cent.

To be sure, poverty is much about income and deprivation – an inability to meet common basic needs. But it also concerns such intangibles as a lack of opportunity, of meaningful employment, and of a sense of belonging.

That’s why the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights defines poverty as: "A human condition characterized by sustained or chronic deprivation of the resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights."

So what will it take to eliminate poverty in Canada? A clear question with a complex answer, but don’t tell me it can’t be done. As Nelson Mandela says: “Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.”

Numerous tools are needed to reduce, prevent and eventually eliminate poverty. These include, as my organization and partners are calling for in Dignity for All: The Campaign for a Poverty-Free Canada, a federal plan to combat poverty, a federal Act to ensure accountability and enduring governmental commitment, and sufficient federal revenue to invest in social security.

But more important than plans and laws are several major breakthroughs we Canadians must make. First, we must come to act on poverty less from charity and more from justice. As American historian Lynn Hunt says: “We are most certain that a human right is at issue when we feel horrified by its violation.” Widespread societal sharing of such emotion, says Hunt, is “the most important quality of human rights.”

Indeed, concern for the marginalized is rooted not so much in pity towards the poor but comes from our inner compass of right and wrong. We may thus be inspired by former Supreme Court of Canada justice and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, who on the occasion of International Human Rights Day in 2006 said that:

"Combating poverty, deprivation and exclusion is not a matter of charity, and it does not depend on how rich a country is. By tackling poverty as a matter of human rights obligation, the world will have a better chance of abolishing this scourge in our lifetime. Poverty eradication is an achievable goal."

Second, honouring the rights-based approach to combating poverty means we must demand broader interpretation – by Parliament foremost and also by courts – of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter entrenches a range of civil and political rights, such as freedom of expression and the right to vote. However, its inclusion (in Section 7) of the guarantee of “security of the person” – a clause drawn from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international human rights instruments to which Canada is signatory – raises the rhetorical question of whether a person can be “secure” if he or she is poor.

“Of course not,” most Canadians will agree. And thus, with respect to the Charter, we ought to demand from government a “positive obligation” – a duty to act – to uphold economic and social rights, thereby resulting in the alleviation and prevention of poverty.

Third, we must include in our notion of economic and social rights, and promote and defend, the right to income security. For one cannot ensure the right to food or to housing, for example, without ensuring the right to the income necessary to pay for such basic needs.

In practice this means Canadian willingness for a more equitable distribution of the national income pie, totalling some $1.5 trillion in 2007. Ensuring a basic income for every person, whether in the labour market or not, and ensuring that full-time work pays a living wage are complementary ways in which this distribution can be accomplished.

The Dignity for All Campaign envisions a poverty-free Canada. Why not aim for 2017, the 150th anniversary of Canada’s birth? With commitment to justice, a broader interpretation of Section 7 of the Charter, and acceptance, promotion and defence of the right to income security, we can build a new national dream, reaping multiple benefits. Is there a more worthwhile Canadian project?