Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the residents of Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay to speak concerning the motion that the member for Calgary East has brought forward.

As I have mentioned previously in this chamber, during the election the price of groceries was the number one issue I heard about from families in my region and at the doors. One conversation stood out. A young mom answered the door, joined by her two young children, wondering who was at the door on a Saturday morning. When I asked what was most worrying her, she did not hesitate: The soaring cost of food was her top concern. Later that same day, I happened to run into her at the grocery store. She wanted to explain to me that over the past year, rising prices had pushed fresh fruits, vegetables and meats out of her budget. While at this point she could still afford inexpensive items like pasta, boxed meals and processed cereals, she knew, as someone who worked in the health profession, that feeding her children this way could have long-term consequences for their health.

We are at risk of raising a generation of children who, through no fault of their own, will create a way of life leading toward obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Many families, if not yet having to turn to food banks, are being forced to make unhealthy choices to simply get by. Centre aisle and dollar store grocery shopping is increasing. The cost to our health care system and to our collective Canadian well-being will be profound if we do not act.

The “Food Banks BC Hunger Report 2024” found that “the rates of food insecurity have almost doubled since 2019.” It also says, “Since 2019, the number of individuals accessing food banks has risen by 32%.” Worse yet, these increases are not single-stop visits, with many British Columbians relying on food bank services several times a month, further proof of deepening dependency just to afford breakfast, lunch and dinner. Thirty-one per cent of all food bank users in British Columbia are children, and 11% are seniors. Many food banks are attempting to serve more clients with fewer resources.

The 2024 hunger report is very clear on the causes:

The increasing rates of food insecurity in BC can be attributed to the following recent shifts:

Sharp rise in inflation

Rapid interest rate hikes

The lack of available housing supply...

The loss of income supports...and...one-time affordability measures

Significant and rapid population growth without the social infrastructure [in place]

A slowdown in economic activity and a rising unemployment rate....

These all cross into the responsibilities of the federal Liberal government. Many of them are disasters that the Liberals spent years denying were ever occurring. It is a list of Liberal failures.

However, as the motion today is focused on the issue of food inflation, I will also highlight a report from the Salvation Army food bank in Penticton, my hometown, which says, “Since Covid ended, inflation has been the main driver, increasing visits by 40%.... We are seeing more homeowners and people who got out of poverty that have slid back into it.”

Communities across my region and Canadians across the country expect Parliament to address escalating grocery prices with every tool available, including countering inflationary pressures caused by a decade of wasteful spending from the Liberal government.

We have heard much since Parliament began that this will be a new government, but what confidence can we have in the same old ministers to address rising grocery prices when they have failed on exactly that issue for years? In fact, the Minister of Finance was also the Liberal minister of industry who declared he had struck a deal with Canada's five largest grocery chains to take action to stabilize food prices by Thanksgiving. That was Thanksgiving 2023. The minister's office said at the time that “in the coming days and weeks[,] Canadians can expect to see actions such as aggressive discounts across a basket of key food products that represent the most important purchases for most households”. The minister's office also said at the time, “If we don’t see results, we will take additional action to restore the food price stability that Canadians expect.”

Well, it has been 20 months since that statement. Let us check the numbers. In 2023, Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab did a food price report and estimated the average family of four spent $15,595 on groceries. That has now risen to $16,834 in 2025. That is an increase of $1,239 a year in cost to Canadians since the Minister of Finance said that he would stabilize grocery prices as industry minister.

Most Canadians do not get promotions if they fail at their job. Apparently, this rule does not apply to Liberal ministers. Five months into 2025, food inflation has skyrocketed well above the normal inflation rate. Beef is up 12% to 33%, pork and chicken breasts are up nearly 6%, oranges are up 26%, apples are up 18%, rice is up 14% and infant formula is up 9%. These are not luxury items. These are basic staples that parents need to feed their children properly or we risk creating unhealthy food habits and severe health challenges for future generations. This will also lead many Canadians into poverty.

Liberal ministers will blame American tariffs for these increases, yet food price increases in France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. remain well below ours, and they all remain under the same threat of these tariffs. To counteract made-in-Canada inflation, Canadians first need to see a full accounting in a federal budget of how the Liberals intend to spend the half a trillion dollars in new spending compared to how much they are bringing in revenue. This new spending already represents the first broken promise of the Liberal government, as it increases spending by 8%, when the Prime Minister promised to cap it at 2%.

Without a full accounting of our federal spending in the House, we risk creating more inflation and more price hikes as Canadians shop for groceries. The Prime Minister said he would be held accountable for the prices Canadians pay at the grocery store. Every Liberal member supported a throne speech that, thanks to a Conservative amendment passed by my Bloc and NDP colleagues, called for a budget to be tabled before this House rises for the summer. We certainly hope that is not yet another promise the Liberals intend to break.

Helena Konanz