QUESTION PERIOD — Privy Council Office
Cost of Living
June 9, 2022
Honourable senators, my question is to the Government Representative in the Senate.
Families and businesses — including small businesses across Canada, which in many ways are the backbone of our economy — are facing increasing costs across the board. Inflationary pressures, rising interest rates, supply chain disruption, the effects of the pandemic and other national and international factors, such as Russia’s invasion and ongoing destruction of Ukraine, are absolute factors in driving increasing costs here at home.
Recent surveys by Food Banks Canada and Mainstreet Research are indicating that families are struggling to buy enough food to feed themselves and their children, and an increasing number of Canadians are reporting that they are going hungry.
In my province of New Brunswick, gas prices rose overnight by 8.9 cents per litre, forcing many New Brunswickers to again make the difficult decision between buying gas for their vehicles so they can go to work or reducing food purchases yet again. Senator Gold, what immediate actions can the government take to address these serious issues today?
Thank you for your question, senator. The issues that you raise are complex and pervasive. They affect all Canadians to some degree, as we’ve discussed and as I answered in the chamber recently.
There is a suite of measures the government is taking that are targeted to various causes, whether it’s a question of inflation — the Bank of Canada, as we know, has embarked upon a series of rate hikes — and it is also with regard to measures outlined in the budget — and that we see in the budget implementation act — that will increase productivity, enhance competitiveness and the like.
The fact remains that we are living through a difficult time. The Government of Canada, along with its counterparts in the provinces and territories, is engaged in trying to help Canadians through these tough times.
