QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Canada's Inflation Rate
February 8, 2022
Senator Gold, in December, inflation rose 4.8% over year-to-year standing. As Liberal MP Lightbound said, standing at its highest point in 30 years. This is a Liberal MP in his honest critique of his government.
Home heating and insurance costs are up. Natural gas prices in Manitoba rose by 26%. Gasoline prices across the country have risen about 33%. The average Canadian family will pay almost a thousand dollars more for groceries this year. Almost 60% of respondents to a recent Angus Reid poll said they are already having a difficult time feeding their families.
Leader, many Canadians cannot make ends meet, yet Minister Freeland refers to legitimate questions on inflation as a false narrative as we see over and over again — and we saw it even in some of the Leader of the Government’s answers here today. How can the Trudeau government be so disconnected from the cost of everyday life in Canada?
Thank you for your question. The Government of Canada, far from being disconnected, is intimately seized with the issue of the difficulties Canadians have been facing for some time due to disruptions in the economy caused by many factors. The Government of Canada has put forward a number of initiatives to address issues such as the rising cost of housing and the fact that affordable housing seems out of reach for far too many, especially of younger generations.
Other measures that were announced in the fall fiscal update are contained in legislation that is currently being debated in the other place, and we also anticipate additional measures will be apparent when the budget is presented this spring.
