A new report from Feed Ontario shows that there is a 64 per cent increase in first-time visitors to food banks in the province and a 47 per cent increase in people with employment accessing food banks. Meanwhile, the country’s largest grocer – Loblaws – made huge profits this year, $556 million in their third quarter, up from $431 million. New Democrats are calling on Trudeau to stop covering for Loblaws as they take advantage of inflation and finally start working for Canadians who are struggling to feed their families.
“Families are struggling to make ends meet while billionaires and big profitable corporations are making record profits. Canadians are doing everything right, but they just can’t get ahead financially. Now more and more Ontarians are having to resort to food banks just to get the food they need. The numbers in this report are staggering. They show that more people who are working— people who never had to use a food bank before— have to rely on this service, ” said NDP MP Matthew Green. “While Canadians families are suffering, Loblaws is making massive profits for their shareholders and CEO. And Trudeau is letting it all happen absolutely unchecked—it’s outrageous.”
This fall, New Democrats took steps to tackle greedflation, by forcing Parliament to acknowledge this issue and launch an upcoming investigation into grocery store corporate greed. Following months of advocacy from New Democrats, the Competition Bureau announced they would launch an investigation into the major grocers and their pricing structures. But as all indicators point to even more challenging economic times ahead – the Trudeau government must take action to protect Canadians through regulation and fairer tax measures that make huge corporations and rich CEOs pay what they owe.
“The government is turning its back on Canadians as food bank visits spike. And Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives will never stand up to huge corporations – they always protect the rich and powerful,” said Green. “Canadians are seeing their paycheques evaporate as they struggle to buy essentials like bread, fruit and vegetable. As a result, people are falling further and further behind; they need help. They deserve elected officials who refuse to stand by while the rich are getting richer at the expense of hardworking Canadians. New Democrats believe governments should make rich CEOs pay what they owe, so that working families can get finally have a chance to get ahead.”
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