Speaker, it’s an honour to rise in the House to share the stories and the voices of the people of Toronto Centre—people who are seeing their lives get harder and harder while they’re being shortchanged by this government’s budget.

I shop locally, and I talk to my neighbours in the grocery aisle, and we lament the costs of a $5 loaf of bread, a $10 stick of butter or a $6 carton of eggs. For goodness’ sake, Speaker, if you can find baby formula, you will see that you’re paying $60.

Prior to the pandemic, the GTA’s 128 food banks saw about 65,000 clients a month—today, that number has quadrupled to 270,000 people, the highest number in its 40-year history.

Speaker, Ontarians have learned that Galen Weston’s wage increased by over $1 million last year.

But this budget does nothing to stop grocery chains from price gouging hard-working Ontarians.

The Daily Bread Food Bank has reached a breaking point, and they are spending an unsustainable $1.8 million a month to buy food to feed hungry Ontarians. Its CEO is calling on the province to step up and help to fight the high cost of groceries.

The budget doesn’t even deliver the help that food banks are asking for.

It’s time for real leadership in Ontario. Make the minimum wage a living wage, double ODSP, and crack down on the “greedflation” forcing Ontarians to use food banks.