It is my pleasure to welcome representatives from the UHC Hub of Opportunities that provides supports and services to people in Windsor and all of Essex county: CEO June Muir and supervisor Marianne Moore.

It’s good to see you back here at Queen’s Park.

My question is to the Premier.

According to Feed Ontario, food bank use remains at an all-time high in Ontario. There has been an increase in food bank use of 42% over the last three years and a 47% increase in people with employment accessing food banks since the Conservatives formed government in 2018. One in four people using a food bank are children living in poverty in this Premier’s Ontario. Two out of three people who access food banks are social assistance recipients.

People in my riding and across Ontario are struggling to provide food for themselves and their families. This is not normal.

Will the Premier commit today to at least doubling ODSP and OW rates and stop legislating poverty?

It’s absolutely shameful that the minister stood there applauding his government when my colleague from Sudbury just talked about the hospice there having to fundraise or their patients having to use food banks.

Between January and September 2022, the number of people visiting a food bank increased by 24%; first-time visitors increased by 64%, and one in three of those people never had to use a food bank before.

Food banks are concerned that the need may outpace the capacity of the provincial food bank network. This is an unprecedented crisis. This is not normal.

After five years in government, the Conservatives should be absolutely ashamed of the consistent increase in the number of people living in poverty.

Can the Premier explain why he and his members applaud themselves for making life more affordable when in fact more and more Ontarians are living in poverty under their watch?