OTTAWA — Yesterday, the Honourable Michel Picard (Montarville, Quebec) presented a petition on the floor of the House of Commons. The petition calls for an increase in funding for girls’ education from $0.02 per Canadian per day to $0.04. This petition follows an open letter, signed by over 40,000 Canadians, urging world leaders to act now, with the right policies and the necessary funds to help millions of girls get an education.

Globally, there are 130 million girls who don’t have access to education. Studies have shown that every dollar invested in education creates a return of $10 in earnings and health benefits in low-income countries. The petition presentation is the result of months of advocacy by ONE members in Picard’s riding.

ONE’s country director in Canada, Stuart Hickox, said in reaction to the petition:

“Poverty is sexist. Extreme poverty disproportionately affects women and girls, but they are also the key to ending it. We applaud Michel Picard for his leadership in bringing this petition to Parliament. Such a small increase per Canadian can make Canada a leader in ensuring that girls everywhere have access to good, quality education. We are so grateful to MP Picard for supporting this petition. With Canada’s 150^th anniversary just two weeks away, we hope that the government will commit to doubling our funding for global education and demonstrate our country’s generosity and leadership in the world.”

Earlier this year, ONE marked International Women’s Day with a massive coordinated push for girls’ education that included parliamentary walk-ins and petition deliveries and a rally at the CBC headquarters. ONE members in Canada were joined by thousands of their counterparts throughout the world to ask their leaders to prioritize girls’ education.

ONE is a policy and advocacy organization of nearly 8 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Not politically partisan, ONE was co-founded by U2 lead singer Bono to raise public awareness and press political leaders to combat AIDS and other preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand greater transparency in poverty-fighting programs.