Mr. Speaker, while the pandemic has hit so many Canadians really hard, there are some who have done quite well.
We should consider that while Winnipeg food banks have seen a 30% increase in demand since the pandemic began, Galen Weston of Loblaws has seen his personal wealth increase by $1.6 billion. Why does this matter? Because we need to ensure that Canada's recovery lifts everyone up. That means investing in health care, housing and a green economy. Working Canadians should not have to foot the bill for that, while billionaires and big corporations, which saw record profits during the pandemic, get off the hook.
We have already seen that some governments, like the Conservatives in Manitoba, are chomping at the bit to use the pandemic as cover to shut down important services, like the community IV Clinic in Transcona and the Cancer Care site at Concordia Hospital. We can stop those cuts by establishing a wealth tax for millionaires, shutting down tax havens and taxing the extra pandemic profits of big corporations. That is the way we will help working Canadians get their lives back, instead of helping the people at the top protect their fortunes.