Speaker, yesterday marked the start of Living Wage Week, an important reminder to all of us to recognize the need for a livable wage in Ontario.

The Ontario Living Wage Network released their yearly living wage rates for the province for 2022. The stark reality is that there isn’t a single one of the 51 communities analyzed where the livable wage has been identified under $18 an hour, far above the current minimum wage.

Many people in Ontario are finding themselves fully employed yet unable to afford the cost of living as inflation rates continue to soar. The cost of groceries, housing, utility bills and transportation have all increased, while wages have remained stagnant. We know that those making the lowest wages in this province are the most impacted when the cost of living increases.

In my community of Windsor, a livable wage has been identified as $18.15. That’s the lowest hourly wage someone needs to make to be able to put a roof over their head and food on the table. The minimum wage is currently set at $15.50—a $2.65-an-hour difference, equalling $5,500 per year that people are coming up short, yet the Conservatives were just bragging about their minimum wage. That doesn’t account for the employees who are forced into precarious part-time positions where hours are not guaranteed.

Many Ontarians are working two or three jobs just to make ends meet. Ontarians deserve to be able to afford the basic costs of living.

It’s time for big corporations, which made record profits this year, to step up and pay a fair wage.

We must support Ontarians and raise the minimum wage.

The Conservative government’s empty slogan, “Working for workers,” doesn’t cut it. If they genuinely supported workers, they’d ensure they get paid a living wage. Poverty is this government’s policy choice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the member for the question. The people of Ontario work hard, and our government understands that taxpayers are under pressure, whether it’s Russia’s war in Ukraine, tension in Asia, and inflation that we’ve not seen for four decades. We recognize the impact that inflation’s having on families, and our government is here for them. Our government is committing to putting and keeping more money in the pockets of the people of Ontario. We have a plan to keep costs down.

We’re moving forward with one of the most ambitious plans in Ontario’s history, including plans to build highways, hospitals, broadband and public transit. It’s outlined in the 2022 budget, Ontario’s Plan to Build. We’ve dedicated $158.8 billion—I’ll repeat, $158.8 billion—over the next decade, including $20 billion in 2022-23, to support our projects such as transit, highways, schools and hospitals.

Mr. Speaker and honourable member, this government is there for the people of Ontario.

Inflation rates are set at 6.9%, cost of rent has gone up 30%, food costs are so high that people can’t afford the basics. Butter is over $6, milk is over $5, bread is over $3.50 a loaf. Food banks were reporting that, as of March 2022, they’re up 35% in usage, and most of those are now seniors and students. The government is doubling the GAINS for one year, starting in January 2023. My question is, will this government make a commitment today to maintain the GAINS at the double payment and stop using seniors as a financial yo-yo?

Thank you to the member opposite. I’ll tell you, this government has made a commitment to seniors, whether it’s the Seniors’ Home Safety Tax Credit, which is helping keep seniors in their homes much longer, keeping them with their families—seniors want that.

With respect to the GAINS, which the government is doubling over the next year for low-income seniors, this is a government that is here—we know that inflation is a reality, although we believe it will likely come down in the next 12 to 24 months, and it’s certainly projecting it will come down. That’s great, but in the meantime we still have a little bit of time here with inflationary pressures, and our government is—I’ll tell you, we have a government that’s committed to helping seniors and we have a Minister for Seniors that I think we owe a great round of gratitude to for all the work he has done standing up for seniors.

Thank you for the member from Waterloo’s presentation.

Speaker, we know that inflation is at a 40-year record high in Canada. This government understands that families, workers and seniors—especially low-income workers and those on fixed incomes—are feeling the pressure on their household budget, and we also recognize the impact that inflation is having on families. That is why our government proposed to extend the gas tax cut for an additional year to help Ontarians to overcome this challenging time.

Speaker, my question is simple: Why won’t the member opposite support the government’s proposed measures to extend the gas tax cut and keep costs down for the people of Ontario?