Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre (Carleton, ON.) attacked the prime minister for his "home-grown Liberal inflation," the same day a new report found food inflation rose by 11.4% in September.."These are the results of the half-trillion dollars of inflationary deficits that are driving up the cost of the goods we buy and the interest we pay, and now he wants to triple the tax on food," Poilievre said..Rising in the House of Commons Wednesday, Poilievre said Canadians are struggling with the rising cost of food. Poilievre said according to the latest inflation projections, bread is up 17%, lettuce is up 21% and flour is up 24%..READ MORE: Inflation in Canada falls to 6.9% in September."The prime minister's solution, of course, is to raise taxes on food with a carbon tax like that will triple, triple, triple the tax on the cost of transporting and producing food in the first place," Poilievre said. "Will he reverse this tax hike so Canadians can put food on the table?.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) said the federal government will be supporting families with a GST tax rebate, which will hit 11 million households. The Conservative Party initially opposed the bill, but decided to support it before it was voted on.."But now, Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have an opportunity to continue to help families that need it with dental care for kids who can't have access to it right now, and with direct help for low-income renters. Will the Conservative leader reverse this position and support low income and families that need it?" Trudeau asked..The proposal to create a national dental care program for low-income Canadians — initially a priority of the New Democrats — became a focus of the Liberals after the two parties joined together in a "supply and confidence" agreement. The deal entails NDP supporting the Liberals on confidence votes until 2025, as long as the Liberals implement several NDP priorities..Poilievre said the prime minister was proposing to do "exactly nothing," for the "vast majority of struggling families who will get nothing."."Even the small minority who do will find it gobbled up by increased inflation," Poilievre said, adding the Royal Bank forecasted the average family would pay $3,000 more in inflation and higher interest rates.."Will the prime minister let up and get off their backs?".Trudeau asked why the Conservatives aren't "stepping up" to help Canadian families with dental care. "We're talking about $1,300 over the next two years to support families that need it across the country, and we're talking about direct support to low-income renters. This is money that can make a huge difference in Canadians' lives," he said.."But the reality is not only do they not support it, they're trying to do everything they can to block it and even kill our support for these families.".Poilievre replied the majority of Canadians won't be admissible to the supports, and even those who are eligible will see it "soon disappear" due to inflation..The opposition leader also said the items that have risen most in price, such as bread, pasta, and flour, can be grown in the country.."We should be able to deliver it to people's kitchen tables affordably, but the prime minister wants to raise taxes on the people who do the growing of our food and the delivering of it to our grocery stores," he said..Poilievre pointed out even the governor of the Bank of Canada recently said inflation "increasingly reflects what's happening" in Canada. "This is home-grown Liberal inflation. Why doesn't the prime minister stop raising the prices on Canadians so that they can put food on the table?".The prime minister replied the Carbon Tax will put more money in Canadians'pockets while allowing them to breathe cleaner air.."A family of four in the opposition leaders writing has already received over $550 from our government in climates rebates this year," he said. ."While the Conservative leader doesn't believe climate change is a problem, we're moving forward with practical, affordable solutions to support families, grow the economy, and fight climate change at the same time.".NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh (Burnaby South, B.C.) said the new inflation data showed the Liberals and Conservatives have done "absolutely nothing" to tackle rising food inflation. The New Democrats repeatedly blamed "greed-flation," the profits from large grocery chains, for rising food costs.."When will the prime minister act to help families?" Singh asked..The prime minister ignored Singh's question about rising food costs, instead reiterating 11 million Canadians will receive a GST tax rebate.."Conservatives have changed their ideas, and now they're going to be supporting our solutions. We hope we will be able to help people now with their dental care and rental assistance and we will ask all parties in this house to join us in accelerating these deliverables for Canadians who need it."
