To the Editor:
It was such a shock to hear on CBC radio and later to read online how Immigration Minister Jason Kenney ignores the hungry in our country. It was reported on May 16 by UN special rapporteur for food Olivier De Schutter that he estimates there are two to three million Canadian people who can’t afford the diets they need to lead healthy lives; the Conservative government suggested De Schutter is wasting his organization’s money by visiting a developing country.
Obviously Kenney and those from the Conservative government do not understand hunger. In B.C. alone, there were 10,000 homeless in 2010, let alone the rest of the provinces. A single mother with one child gets only $900 some a month to live on for everything! Proper food will be low on that list of essentials.
Instead of criticizing the UN, it’s obvious the Conservative government should say, “Oh my goodness, how can this be happening in our nation? All these people visiting the food banks, people starving and homeless — let’s see how we can help these people!” But instead, they criticize the messenger. How heartless and cruel! Good leaders should care and have empathy for those they lead. Empathy often is only rightly portrayed when you have walked in someone’s shoes.
A challenge to Kenney, Prime Minister Harper and the Conservative government: try living on less than $1,000 a month, (with no extra free perks, of course), and maybe then you will understand the daily life of so many Canadians. You would then welcome De Schutter’s analysis, and strive to help so many of the struggling Canadians.
Creston