Mr. Speaker, over the summer, I met with and heard from the good people of Okanagan—Shuswap and people across B.C. They are hard-working and love their country, but what I heard from them was that taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and time is up.
One in five Canadians skipped or reduced the size of at least one meal because they could not afford groceries. One in five parents ate less so their children or other family members could eat. In Vernon, one in 23 families relied on a food bank in the last 12 months, and one in 13 kids depended on a food bank last year. Thirty per cent of food bank users in Vernon are children.
Many food bank users are hard-working, middle-class families struggling to put food on the table, some already working two or more jobs. What I heard was that after nine years of the Liberal-NDP government, those good people have no confidence in the government and want a carbon tax election now.