Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour to rise on behalf of Oshawa residents. My neighbours speak about this issue, which is very important to them. It weighs heavily on workers, families, seniors and youth across our community.
Bill C-226 is a bill to establish a national framework to improve food price transparency. The legislation would require the Minister of Industry, in consultation with provinces, to develop a framework focused on grocery pricing practices, unit price display and consumer education. It would also require a report to Parliament within 18 months, followed by a review of its effectiveness within five years. At first glance that sounds reasonable. Transparency matters, and Canadians deserve clear and accurate information when they are making decisions at the grocery store.
However, in Oshawa, that conversation goes far beyond transparency. It is about whether people can afford to put food on the table at all. In my recent surveys in Oshawa, of more than 8,000 people, 73% said that the self-proclaimed new Liberal government has not significantly eased their household's cost of living challenges over the past year. What stood out even more was that 40% of those Oshawa respondents also said they were, in general, Liberal supporters.
That tells me something important: People are not approaching this as a political debate. They are looking at their grocery bills, their bank accounts and their ability to get through the month, and they are worried. Of my constituents who responded, 53% said they are living paycheque to paycheque. These are not just people on the margins. They are dual-income working families, young workers trying to get ahead and seniors who are doing everything they can to make their savings last. They are doing everything right, but it is still not enough.
Affordability is now the top issue for over 57% of the people in Oshawa who answered my surveys. Affordability is ahead of health care, ahead of crime, ahead of tariffs and even ahead of jobs. That speaks to how serious the situation has become. It is not just what people are telling me. It is also what we are seeing. Food banks in Oshawa and across the Durham region are facing record demand. Organizations like Simcoe Hall Settlement House, local churches with food bank, and Feed the Need in Durham are having more working families than ever walk through their doors.
Many of these organizations have had to limit how often people can come. This is not because the need has gone down but because they simply cannot keep up with the demand. I saw this first-hand in Oshawa when the leader of the official opposition joined us at Simcoe Hall Settlement House. Together we helped deliver donations collected through my constituency office's drive, made possible by the generosity of my neighbours in Oshawa, in addition to the generous donations made personally by the member for Battle River—Crowfoot.
We had the chance to speak with the hard-working Simcoe Hall staff and volunteers who are on the front lines every day, doing everything they can to support families in need. What stayed with me most was how much demand has grown and how many of the people relying on these services today are from working families and never expected to be in the position they are in.
I also asked, when I was at Simcoe Hall in December, about the national school food program. The Liberals are constantly telling us that it is the answer to help with food insecurity and affordability. The folks at Simcoe Hall said it is not doing anything. In fact, I do not know of any school in my region that has the national school food program. Again, it is not working, it is not helping and we need better answers.
I have also heard from more than 5,000 Oshawa residents who have signed petitions calling for immediate action to bring down the cost of food. They are asking for relief from the hidden costs that drive up prices on everything from fuel to packaging and fertilizers. They are asking for practical solutions that would make a difference in their daily lives. They are not asking for yet another framework. “Framework” is a beautiful word that just means more bureaucracy.
Bill C-226 may help consumers compare prices. It may affect how information is displayed. It may help some households understand what they are paying for. However, it would not do what we in Oshawa and all Canadians need. It would not lower the cost of groceries, period.
We must also consider the broader impact. The bill would introduce a federal framework in an area that has traditionally been managed by the provinces. Retail pricing and consumer protection are areas where the provinces already play a significant role. We need to be mindful not to create yet another overlap that simply adds complexity without delivering meaningful results because, guess what, those added costs do not stay within the system but are passed on to the consumer, exacerbating the problem we currently have.
We also know that the Competition Bureau has already studied the grocery sector and highlighted the need for stronger competition. That is where we should be focused: on creating an environment where new competitors can enter the market, on reducing barriers that drive up costs and on ensuring Canadians have real choice.
In my conversations across Oshawa, I have heard something very concerning. Families are changing what they eat. Some have stopped buying meat altogether. My friend Nathan said earlier that we need more red meat, not more red tape. Others are cutting back on even the most basic resources of protein just to make their budgets work. As a result, this is not just an affordability crisis but also a health crisis. This is not what Canadian people expect. This is not what families should be facing after working hard and doing their part.
My neighbours in Oshawa are not asking for more reports. They are not asking for more strategies, more frameworks or more plans. They are tired. They are concerned. They are asking for something very simple. They want to be able to afford to feed their own families. They want dignity. They want to take care of themselves without having to rely on a food bank or other government supports and programs. They want to feed their own families.
After nearly a decade of rising costs and 11 years of Liberal promises that have not delivered relief, 62% of my constituents in Oshawa who responded believe that our country is headed in the wrong direction. That is not something we can ignore. Therefore, while I respect the intent of Bill C-226, there are serious concerns. Transparency matters, but it is not enough. Canadians need action that lowers costs and policies that address the real drivers of food prices. They need relief now, not in 18 months, and not years down the road.
This is a serious moment. We have a responsibility to respond with solutions that reflect what Canadians are actually going through. Above all, we have a responsibility to listen, to understand and to act in a way that brings real relief to the people we represent.