Mr. Speaker, in Kitchener, families are making heartbreaking sacrifices just to get by. Alex, a father, told me he eats barely half a meal a day so his children can have three meals a day. Kirby, who has to worry about not only his children but also his grandfather, shared with me that when he feeds them, he waits until they are finished, and if there is none left he will just have to wait until tomorrow. This is not okay, yet the budget offers nothing to ease their burden. Instead it piles on unprecedented debt that will drive inflation higher and push grocery prices further out of reach for Canadians.
Canadians do not need empty promises; they need affordability, dignity and hope. We cannot accept a budget that ignores the reality that Canadians and our children are going hungry. They deserve better.