“Mr. Speaker, on May 1, I asked how many food bank expansions the Liberal government needed to see before it would bring grocery bills down. The minister responded by citing the Canada groceries and essentials benefit and temporary fuel tax relief. Well, those measures do not seem to have helped. Nearly six months later, families in my community still need an answer about the price of food. Last week, Food Banks Canada released its latest “Hungercount Report”. It recorded more than 2.35 million food bank visits in March of this year, which is more than double the number in 2019 and up 9% since last year across the country. In B.C., visits rose by 14% compared to the previous March. Behind those numbers are people who are struggling to make their paycheques, pensions and disability benefits cover the essentials. The latest Statistics Canada figures show that grocery prices are 33% higher than they were in September 2020. Of course, the wages and benefits have not kept up with that increase. I recognize that the grocery benefit does help eligible households, that fuel tax relief has been extended as Conservatives requested and that people do need that breathing room, but the government has to explain how it will reduce the underlying costs of getting food onto the shelves. The answer cannot be a never-ending stream of cheques and an ever-lengthening lineup at food banks. For Vancouver Island, that means working with us on improving the infrastructure that supports our supply chains and paying attention to freight, cold storage and distribution. It also means making it easy for local farmers and independent grocers to reach customers. It means removing unnecessary federal costs and barriers, while protecting food safety and strengthening competition. The government has now opened applications for its $1 billion food-link fund. It says that this will improve distribution and lower food costs. Given the ineffectiveness of earlier measures, I would feel better if we had clear deadlines and measurable results. Will the parliamentary secretary commit tonight to public reporting on whether the fund meets its approval deadlines when projects begin operating and whether they lower distribution costs for island communities? Beyond that fund, which federal costs will the government remove to make producing and transporting food more affordable? A $1-billion commitment deserves a clear accounting of what it will deliver. Families should be able to judge the results at the grocery store. The government owes all Canadians a plan that reduces the need for that help. Once again, we find that these plans are short on details in many ways. They are short on key performance indicators, and we lack confidence that they will produce measurable results. When will families in Nanaimo—Ladysmith and across this country finally see lasting relief in their grocery bills?”
Statement grade
B
The average of Signal, Relevance, Respect and Clarity is 83. The grade is held to 78, 30 above Signal.
78 / 100, held down by Signal
A score under 50 is red. Choose a measurement to see where it lost points and why; choose it again to clear.
This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.
Mr. Speaker, Claims · 55 wordswe know that Canadians are struggling with the cost of living.Of course, we also know that the oil price shock is what is driving the consumer price index up.The consumer price index would be at 2.4% if it were not for the rise in energy prices that has driven it up to 3.1%.1Reasoning · 9 wordsThat directly impacts the cost of food over time, Claims · 13 wordsand we see that the inflation of food prices is significant and elevated.Positioning · 28 wordsThat is exactly why we have given families a boost today and a bridge to tomorrow.That includes helping both with more emergency or immediate relief and support, PositioningClaims · 21 wordswhich includes a billion-dollar investment, 2and making the national school food program permanent.3It also includes the groceries and essentials benefit.4Thanks · 15 wordsI am glad to hear the member opposite acknowledge that those programs really help people.ThanksPositioning · 39 wordsOften we hear from the Conservatives that they do not acknowledge them.They call the national school food program “garbage” or claim that it does not serve any food to children, when we know in fact that is false.5PositioningAnecdote · 17 wordsI have witnessed it with my own eyes when I have toured food programs in my riding.AnecdotePartly on pointClaims · 64 wordsWe have also moved forward on a national food security strategy, 6which is significant at $3.2 billion.7Previously, we never had what I would say is a medium- to long-term strategy to address the structural problems in the food system.We have had numerous reports done by the Competition Bureau that looked at corporate consolidation within the food system all along the supply chains.8Reasoning · 82 wordsThe reality is that this leaves our food system vulnerable to shocks in the global market.Unearned certaintyCommodity prices affect the input costs for our farmers, the cost of transportation and distribution, and the costs for our retailers, all of whom assume some of those costs and eventually pass them down to consumers in raised prices at the grocery store.Therefore, over time, having a food system that is vulnerable and highly dependent upon global supply chains is not the most resilient strategy.Promise · 42 wordsWhat we are doing is investing in the infrastructure that communities need in order to be able to distribute food and to develop shorter supply chains and more sustainable regional food systems that have cold storage and distribution, that do value added.Claims · 72 wordsOn Vancouver Island, in Victoria and the surrounding areas, there is much activity in the food system.I have toured it and met with many of the groups in the past.Before I was in politics, I served on the board of Food Secure Canada, an organization that has advocated for sustainable local food systems.9This national food security strategy is something I have advocated for since entering politics seven years ago.10Positioning · 81 wordsI am very proud to stand with a government that is making a $3.2-billion investment into the structural challenges in the food system, to develop the infrastructure and capacity at the community scale, to develop more resilience and essentially create competition so independent grocery stores would be able to get access to local food and do it in a more affordable way that is somewhat insulated from the commodity price fluctuations that have made our food system quite vulnerable to shocks.Positioning
