Mr. Speaker, the families and seniors in my riding who are carefully studying grocery flyers deserve a straight answer about why food keeps getting more expensive. We often hear the government members say it is a global problem, but if that were true, every country would be feeling it equally, and they are not. Canada now has the highest food inflation in the G7.
When we look at where Canadians are being hit hardest, we see that it is not on imported luxuries. Ground beef is up 22%; whole chicken, nearly 13%; pork, more than 13%; and even romaine lettuce has jumped 17%. These are not imported luxuries. These are foods raised and grown by Canadian farmers, yet families and seniors in my community are paying more for them every single week.
Food prices are 27% higher than five years ago, and food bank use has doubled since 2019. People in my riding do not want to have to rely on food stamps. What they want to know is why decisions are being made in Ottawa that keep driving up the price of Canadian food.