Thanks very much.
I'll try to invoke some of my friendly Manitoba disposition here, Mr. Chair.
Minister, thank you very much for being here.
I want to go back in my preamble—which may be a bit longer than that of some of my colleagues—to some statistics we have available to us. I've heard my Conservative colleagues from across the way in this committee and in the House talk a lot about food inflation. I want to draw the committee's attention, if I may, to a couple of statistics.
I know you talked about food prices beginning to stabilize around Thanksgiving. Now, I remember Thanksgiving well, because my birthday is in and around there. That would be October. Now, I'm looking at this graph, which is probably similar to the one you have. This is from Statistics Canada and was provided by the Library of Parliament, and then provided to us by the analysts of this committee. It tells us that in the month of October, grocery prices had stabilized substantially since March, May and July, down to about 6%. Now they're down, from the most recent data we have—January 2024—to 4%, which is essentially on par with the consumer price index.
I also hear my colleagues talk a lot about the carbon price and the concern they have about its contributions to food inflation in Canada.
I think, as you mentioned before, Minister, that we have seen a variety of different factors contributing to the cost of living across the world, whether it was pandemic disruption, supply chain management issues or war between Russia and Ukraine, etc.
I'm going to refer back to a chart that I have referred to on a number of occasions in this committee and in the chamber during debate. This comes from 2023 OECD data showing that Canada is essentially on par with the United States in terms of where its position is in the G7, which is tied for second-lowest in the G7 for food price inflation. How is it, I ask, that in a jurisdiction where there is not a price on pollution, the price of food and the inflation related to the cost of food can be on par with those in a jurisdiction where there is one? I have yet to hear my colleagues answer that question adequately. Perhaps it's because they don't want to believe the data.
I'll turn to you, Minister, for comment on that. However, most importantly, I would hope that you comment on.... You'll probably reiterate things you've said before, but I'd love to hear them again. Why do you believe—and is it in relation to actions the Government of Canada has taken—that food prices are lower, that Canada is on par with the United States and that we are starting to see a turnaround and a higher rate of reduction in food prices than we're seeing among allies across the G7 and around the world?