Mr. Speaker, the long-awaited federal budget was tabled, and while a new Liberal leader was supposed to mean a new direction, this budget proves it is the same government with the same wasteful spending and the same pain for Canadians.
Families are cutting back on groceries, young people cannot afford homes and retirees are watching their savings shrink. Under the new Liberal leader, nothing has changed. Actually, that is not true. Things are getting worse.
Yesterday, Statistics Canada confirmed that food inflation is rising again. Canada is the only G7 country to see four straight months of rising food inflation. Between March and September, food inflation jumped sharply across everyday staples. Coffee and tea prices rose 15% and beef and berries are up 25%. These are not luxury goods; they are essentials.
Conservatives put forward a plan to lower food prices by cutting the industrial carbon tax, the food packaging tax and the costly fuel standard, and by ending inflationary deficits, but the Liberals voted it down. Canadians deserve better. Conservatives will fight for an affordable budget for an affordable life for all Canadians.