Madam Speaker, I stand before members with a heavy heart today to share some stories of moms and dads whom I heard from over the course of the summer. They shared with me the heartbreaking truth that they just cannot afford the quality food that they want to give their kids. These are proud parents who have done everything right. They work hard and play by the rules, yet they find they are struggling not to get ahead but just to get by. They told me of the feeling of looking into the eyes of their little ones and of the desperation in being unable to fulfill the most basic need by providing a healthy, decent meal for their kids.
I also spoke with many seniors, the very individuals who built this country, who are now faced with an unbearable reality. I vividly recall one senior who had tears forming in her eyes as she told me how her rent and utility bill increases have made it near impossible to afford anything else. She cannot afford fresh fruit, fresh veggies or anything that she wants to enjoy her passion with, which is cooking. She can barely afford to feed herself, never mind feeding anyone else. She told me she thought she had a good pension, and she saved her whole life; however, she cannot stretch these dollars any further. She told me that this was not the Canada she remembered, and it was not the retirement she expected.
For these folks, their spirits are shattered when they have to line up at a food bank, empty-handed and exhausted, just to pick up a few extra meals to get through to the end of the month. They told me that they feel like a burden, or worse, a failure on behalf of their family. They do not want to have to ask their family and friends for help. I respect that pride, but they should not have to feel this way.
Let us not forget the staggering truth that the number of Canadians relying on food banks has reached an all-time high. This is not the Canada that these Canadians, nor any of us, were promised. I grew up believing that, if we went to school, worked hard and played by the rules, no dream was too big and retirement with dignity would not be out of reach. However, many are left wondering how they are going to afford dinner instead.
The government has let Canadians down. It has pushed them to the brink, to a feeling of loneliness and failure. I would be shocked if Liberal and NDP colleagues did not hear the same story, or one very similar, over the course of the summer.
Now, I expect my colleague across the way will respond to this question with talking points about how great all the Liberals' care programs are. However, no government program could ever restore the lost pride of those parents or those retirees.
According to Harvest Manitoba, food bank usage surged by 150% between 2019 and 2023. How many more families will have to suffer? How many will have to line up in desperation before the government recognizes its own failures? How many more families must line up at a food bank before the Liberals finally axe the tax and recognize that, if we tax the farmer who grows the food, the trucker who ships the food and the grocer who sells the food, we put a tax on all Canadians? How bad does it have to get until they realize their failed policies have caused this? How long until the Liberals and the NDP take a good, long look in the mirror and realize that their policies, while perhaps well intentioned, are the cause of this misery for so many Canadians?
