Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his empathetic speech.
I remember all too well what it feels like to put back a can of juice, telling myself that we will drink water. I know what it feels like to skip buying bread, telling myself that we have a bit of flour and we will make crepes with water for lunch this week. I know that feeling, and it happened to me not so long ago. I thank him for his empathy. I know what it means to count every penny in order to be able to pay the rent.
Now there are people, not only families, but seniors who worked their whole life, who lived through other inflation crises, including those of the 1970s and 1980s. They are living on pensions that have increased by barely $13 a month during a period of more than 10 years. Last year, they got an increase of 61 cents, after a cut of several dollars.
How can we really help these people deal with the current crisis, in terms of both the pandemic and inflation?