Food bank use SURGES as Carney unveils grocery rebate
Marc Patrone speaks with Daily Bread Food Bank CEO Neil Hetherington, who says rising housing and grocery costs are pushing employed Canadians into food insecurity.
After nearly ten months of steadily rising grocery prices, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced new measures aimed at easing the affordability crisis, centred on a significant expansion of the GST credit.
The federal government plans to spend almost $10 billion over five years, boosting the GST credit by 25 per cent. The increase could save a family of four nearly $1,900 this year. Carney emphasized that the benefit will go directly to individuals, with no restrictions on how the money is spent.
Agricultural expert Dr. Sylvain Charlebois questioned why the government opted for cash transfers instead of cutting the GST on food altogether. He argued a tax cut would reduce prices immediately at the checkout for all Canadians, rather than delivering delayed relief through government programs.
Food insecurity remains at record levels. More than 2.2 million Canadians visit food banks every month, while 25 per cent of Canadians face food insecurity, including one-third who are children.
Neil Hetherington, CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto, told Marc Patrone the measures will help, but warned they do not address the root causes driving food bank use.
Hetherington stressed that food banks should not be the solution. “I don’t want governments funding food banks,” he said. “I want governments fixing the systems so people don’t need them.”
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This communist makes me want to puke. More handouts, more money, more welfare, more freebies for jackarses who came to Kanada to leach off of us - 1. send the foreigners home; they have raised rents for all of us, caused massive congestion on roads, schools and hospitals. Get the He** out! 2. no more welfare, no more raising 'cheques' for handouts. Cancel all these programs, Kanada's biggest problem is lazy sob's not working; of course that would be easier if all the foreigners weren't here --> which depresses the price of labour. Get rid of the foreigners and suddenly that Tims job would pay a lot more than minimum wage....and food bank usage goes down. Government needs to stop trying to 'fix' markets, just get out of the damn way!
Handouts do not lift people out of poverty. Canadians need real jobs with a decent income and lower taxes. Then, and only then, will the lineups at food banks go down. Carney is NOT 'the man.'