My question is for the Premier.

The alarm bells have been ringing for a while now. The cost of living continues to rise astronomically. Grocery stores are raising food prices. Landlords are raising rents. People are falling behind, and they’re now turning to food banks in record numbers.

In Toronto, for example, the number of people relying on food banks has quadrupled over the last three years. At the Daily Bread Food Bank, there were nearly 270,000 visits in March alone—a record. One third of visitors actually have full-time employment, but they cannot make ends meet. For the first time in 25 years, under this government, the number of children using food banks is going up. One in four visitors at the Daily Bread Food Bank is a child.

Ontario is experiencing a crisis of food insecurity.

We’re talking about hard-working people who can no longer keep up with the skyrocketing cost of living.

Why is this government failing so spectacularly at protecting Ontarians from falling victim to food insecurity?

When the level of food insecurity has reached the epic proportions we are seeing now, it is a clear sign of this government’s failures. We are literally talking about parents and children struggling to eat—even parents who have full-time jobs, making more than minimum wage.

We need to adequately address the historic levels of inflation Ontarians are experiencing with proactive financial relief.

The rising costs of things like food and housing have vastly outpaced this government’s half-hearted measures as they pay lip service to the struggles of Ontarians. For a government with $44 billion in contingency funds, $12.5 billion in excess funds over the next three years, and a well-documented underspending habit, you would think they could find some room in their budget to address the most essential needs.

Something isn’t right.

How can this government run a province, let alone an economy, if hard-working families with full-time jobs can’t even afford to feed their children?