About one-in-ten Canadians – more than three million people – are living in poverty, and that is having a devastating impact on their health. Those are some of the findings of the 2010 report card on child and family poverty in Canada, released earlier today. Deep and persistent poverty is one factor that is driving Canada’s dismal infant mortality rate (we rank a low 22 out of 31 wealthy countries in OECD ranking). The report card sets out a policy prescription, including the urgent need for a federal poverty reduction plan. Last week, the all-party Commons HUMA committee released its own blueprint for a federal poverty reduction plan. The Wellesley Institute has done extensive research on the links between poverty and health, including Poverty Is Making Us Sick, a comprehensive national overview of income and health.