Thank you, Mr. Morantz, for that question.
Certainly, as you indicate, you've had good testimony from the Bank of Canada and other economists, who can opine in a much better way than I about the underlying causes of the inflation in our country. I can only say that those rising prices for food, fuel, housing and everything we buy are, as you rightly noted, now driving nearly two million Canadians a month to food banks. We've been seeing that trend now for the last couple of years. It will certainly be for Parliament to judge the relative merits and to balance the need to stem inflation and help Canadians who are hurting with the very real need to protect the environment for Canadians and around the globe.
I would say, however, that certainly the combination of those rising prices is creating tremendous hardship for many Canadians, particularly here in Manitoba. The combination of those things has been tough, especially for those who are on fixed incomes and those earning the lowest wages in our community—