My question is for the Premier. Speaker, the public still remembers the bread price-fixing scandal where grocers reached a secret agreement to inflate the cost of bread for more than 14 years. They said they were sorry, but since then big corporations’ profits continue to reach all-time highs while Ontarians’ monthly budgets get tighter, and shrinkflation means we’re literally getting less for our money.

Speaker, something just doesn’t smell right in Ontario’s grocery stores. Can the Premier tell Ontarians what he’s doing to hold big corporations accountable and put a stop to price gouging?

It’s time to stop cozying up to powerful billionaires and start taking a much closer look at their business practices. Speaker, what is the Premier doing to investigate price gouging and make sure Ontarians aren’t getting ripped off on groceries?

NOSIs are a type of lien against property commonly used today to scam and extort Ontarians across our province, especially our seniors. Earlier this year, the Ontario NDP tabled a bill to ban them and put an end to this abuse. The minister said he agreed with us, but here we are two months later, and we are still waiting while homeowners continue to get scammed.

Will the minister commit today to banning these secretive, harmful liens against homes in Ontario and, if so, tell us when he will make it into law?

There are countless Ontarians with these secretive, harmful liens on their homes, including an elderly couple in my community with a dozen of them totalling more than $100,000.

I recently tabled a motion calling on the government to immediately notify all homeowners who have these liens on their homes, because the people deserve to know.

Will the minister support this important motion?

Back to the Premier: Ontarians are struggling under out-of-control costs of living, including food prices, leading over 800,000 more Ontarians to food banks and leaving them to make tough nutritional choices, especially those on social assistance, affecting their health and, ultimately, our health care system overall. Throughout this affordability crisis, grocers continue to post record profits and are making the situation even worse.

Why won’t this government stand up to these gouging grocers instead of making excuses for them?

Interjections.

Ontarians pay some of the highest cell phone and Internet bills on earth. Places around the world spend 10 times less for what we’re getting. If they can do it, why can’t we?

This morning, I joined our Ontario NDP leader and NDP MPP colleagues to discuss a consultation plan and a set of hearings across the province to hear from consumers, telecom experts, consumer protection advocates and the industry itself to discuss a way forward and a plan to deliver more accessible telecom, and at better prices.

Does this government agree that telecom companies are gouging Ontarians? And what are they willing to do about it?

Interjections.

If there is one thing that this government is great at, it’s over-promising and under-delivering. What we’ve seen is that this government has held back nearly 90% of their budgeted investment on broadband infrastructure, going back years.

So my question is simple: Why won’t they make broadband access a priority, and why are they under-spending on bringing access to Ontarians? Because access to Internet and cell phones and telecom isn’t just a luxury anymore; it is a necessity for all of us.

Interjections.

I thank the member for his presentation. He always is very well rehearsed and speaks so well here in the House.

My question is—you speak to everyday Ontarians, families and individuals in your community. We are now in the midst of an unprecedented affordability crisis and this is a very, very, very tough time, coming out of an even tougher time as well, from the pandemic. Do everyday residents in your community express hope with this budget? What are they saying to you?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The cost of living in Ontario is unbearable for most individuals and families. The basic necessities of life in Ontario have become out of reach for so many. Energy bills, rent, gas, car insurance and food prices have all skyrocketed and this government hasn’t reined it in. Families on fixed incomes suffer the most when their bottom-line expenses go up. They’re forced to make impossible choices between which bills to pay or to go without any money whatsoever when ends just don’t meet.

Life is getting so hard that families, now more than ever, are relying on food banks to feed themselves. The figure will shock you: One in seven employed Canadians are currently accessing food banks. I’ll say it again: These are employed individuals working hard to try and make ends meet in Ontario, but just can’t do it. One in seven—imagine. And, of that, over a third of all food bank users are children. Speaker, this is unacceptable.

But what are Ontarians to do when even the food banks in their communities are being pushed out by the rising cost of rent and can no longer afford to operate in the neighbourhoods they serve? This is the case in my own community. A long-serving food bank, Society for the Living, has found itself priced out of their home where they have operated for 24 years. Imagine that: an important source of relief for many families, priced out and looking for a new home. If local food banks are closing, what does this mean for those that need them the most? This government needs to act now, because talk is cheap, but living in Ontario is not.