Food is a human right
December 10, 2025
On this International Human Rights Day, the new People’s Report on WSSD 2025 for Canada confirms what communities across the country already know: food insecurity in Canada is a human rights emergency. Right To Food was consulted for this national report which echoes our call that food insecurity must be treated not as charity, but as an income and justice issue.
At least 1 in 4 people across the country are unable to afford enough food, food banks are stretched to record-breaking levels, and inflation keeps pushing prices out of reach.
The WSSD2 report reinforces our key policy demands:
- A national coordinated rights-based plan with clear food insecurity reduction targets.
- Targeted income supports that reflect real need, such as a Groceries & Essentials Benefit and an expanded Canada Disability Benefit.
- Robust investments to strengthen Indigenous food sovereignty.
Today’s release is a clear signal: everyone has the right to eat with dignity, and Canada is failing millions in that regard. We need coordinated, federal action now.
The report cautions that while Canada promotes human rights and sustainable development internationally, it continues to fall short on fundamental economic and social rights at home. Reviewing Canada’s progress on commitments made from the 1995 World Summit on Social Development (WSSD) through WSSD2 in Doha and since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the report delivers a clear conclusion: Canada has ample resources to eliminate poverty, hunger, and gender inequality, but entrenched policy decisions are holding back meaningful progress.
