Singh: Liberals are failing to help Canadians with rising cost of living

In next week’s Fiscal Update, the Liberals must include urgent measures to help families make ends meet

OTTAWA – As Canadians struggle with a rising inflation rate and the rising cost of living, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is calling on the Liberal government to act to help people in next week’s Fiscal Update. New Democrats are calling on the government to make it easier for people to find an affordable home, to make cell phone and internet bills less expensive, to support Canadians dealing with the impacts of the pandemic and to support people to retrofit their homes and reduce the cost of heating their homes.

“The cost of living keeps going up. Families are having a hard time making ends meet when groceries, gas, and housing are getting more expensive every month. As the rate of inflation is going up, it is not the ultra-wealthy that are struggling, its everyday Canadians,” said Singh. “Justin Trudeau says he cares about people struggling with the cost of living, but he failed to implement concrete measures that will actually help people make ends meet. New Democrats know that’s wrong and we’re pushing the government to make things more affordable for you and your family.”

Under Justin Trudeau, the average cost of a home is 38 per cent higher than it was a year ago and he has done nothing to stop the wealthy speculators that are driving up housing prices. Home heating bills are expected to increase this winter. While housing and energy costs get increasingly unaffordable, Canadians are also paying some of the highest cell phone and internet rates in the world. Justin Trudeau can reduce the price of telecommunications price, as he promised to do, by putting in a place a cap on price.

“Canadian have been through so much in the last two years. Instead of taking concrete action to help them make ends meet, the government is standing by while the price of homes, the price of staying connected and the price of keeping your home heated gets more and more expensive,” said Singh. “Meanwhile, the Conservatives think cutting help to Canadians and cutting the services we depend on is a good way to address inflation. New Democrats know that you need to invest to help people, not cut the services you depend on when your family needs help. We will keep fighting for you and your family.”

Singh and the NDP are urging the Liberals to build 500,000 units of affordable housing across the country and to change the definition of ‘affordable’ so any investments made really do go toward creating housing Canadians can actually afford. Speculation is also driving the higher cost of housing; the Liberals must keep their promise to address this problem by banning blind bidding and introducing both a flipping tax and a foreign homeowner’s vacant tax. The Liberals can also introduce a program to make sure that rental housing and housing occupied by lower income people is built or renovated to improve energy efficiency. This will both create jobs and reduce people’s energy bills.