It's the tough decision many Canadians are facing: paying bills or eating..The Conservatives say a quarter of Canadians are not eating enough because they cannot afford to buy food..According to Statistics Canada reports, food prices have risen 10% since last year, the highest increase since 1981..On Monday, Conservative MP Luc Berthold (Mégantic-L'Érable) told the House of Commons the situation in Canada is "increasingly worrisome."."We have learned a quarter of Canadians are not eating enough," Berthold said..He then proceeded to ask why are the prime minister and his ministers not doing anything to help Canadians?.However, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland says that's not true. They are helping Canadians.."Our budget includes a range of measures to help reduce the cost of living, such providing dental care for Canadians, offering a one-time $500 payment to those facing housing affordability challenges, doubling the first-time homebuyers' tax credit and introducing a multi-generational home renovation tax credit," Freeland said..Berthold responded to Freeland by saying, "the minister cannot be serious. Her answer was about dental care and the home buyers' tax credit.".The Conservatives then asked the Speaker of the House if that's the Liberals' solution to the crisis food banks are currently facing?."Places like Mégantic-L'Érable have seen a 10% increase in demand over the past few weeks from people who cannot afford to put food on the table. In many other regions, it's as high as 25%. When food bank usage goes up faster than inflation, which has hit a record high, that means Canada has a serious problem," Berthold said..Berthold then asked the minister to please park her theoretical budget and explain to food banks how it they are supposed to make ends meet and make sure everyone gets enough to eat?.Freeland said the Liberals know all too well that the cost of living is a "big issue for Canadian families."."That is why we created and indexed the Canada child benefit. A single mom of two can get up to $13,666. We increased old age security by 10%. We took care of our youth and now students can now save over $3,000 thanks to our plan," Freeland told parliament..According to Statistics Canada, Canadians paid 9.7% more in April for food purchased from stores compared to April 2021. The increase, which exceeded 5%, was the largest increase since September 1981. For comparison, from 2010 to 2020, there were five months when prices for food purchased from stores increased at a rate of 5% or higher. On a year-over-year basis, increases in food prices have been broad-based, with consumers paying more for nearly everything at the grocery store. Basics, such as fresh fruit (+10.0%), fresh vegetables (+8.2%) and meat (+10.1%), were all more expensive in April compared with a year earlier. Prices for starchy foods such as bread (+12.2%), pasta (+19.6%), rice (+7.4%) and cereal products (+13.9%) also increased. Additionally, a cup of coffee (+13.7%) cost more in April 2022 than in April 2021. "I cannot get over the answers I am hearing from Canada's minister of Finance," Berthold said. "She does not realize what a tough time people are having paying their bills and putting food on the table. Everything is more expensive." "What the minister is saying is that it may just be single mothers who are having a tough time. In reality, every Canadian and every worker is having a tough time. Some are struggling to pay for gas to get to work. 40 % of people earning less than $50,000 a year are going hungry. That is the reality." Berthold then asked other governments are taking action, so why are Liberals dragging their feet? Freeland responded by saying, "we have no lessons to learn from the Conservatives when it comes to helping the most vulnerable Canadians cope with the cost of living." "In 2015, when we formed the government, 5,177,000 Canadians were living in poverty. According to the last year for which we have statistics, that number has dropped to 3,794,000. That is progress," Freeland concluded.
