Jagmeet Singh Slams Conservatives For Laughing When He Said Canadians Can't Afford Groceries

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is calling out Conservative MPs for laughing when he said the cost of food is so expensive that Canadians can't afford groceries.

On June 8, he posted a video on TikTok and Instagram of himself speaking in the House of Commons about food prices in Canada.

"One out of every four Canadians in this country is going hungry because they cannot afford groceries. At the same time, corporations are making record profits. They're breaking record after record. Our plan is to tax the excess profits," Singh said.

Near the end of his statement to parliament, people can be heard laughing and the NDP leader said it was Conservative MPs.

The speaker of the house actually had to ask Singh to stand up and speak again so he could be heard since the laughter was loud.

"I just mentioned that Canadians are hungry and I hear laughter in the chambers. They should be ashamed of themselves. Absolutely ashamed," he said.

"Our plan is to tax the excess profits of these corporations and put the money directly into the pockets of Canadians who need it," Singh continued.

On TikTok, Singh said, "Turn up the volume, and listen to Conservatives laugh at people going hungry because of corporate greed."

In the caption of his Instagram post about the situation, he also mentioned that "the struggles Canadians are facing are nothing to laugh about."

"Shame on them," he continued.

Statistics Canada's Consumer Price Index for April 2022 revealed that consumer prices rose by 6.8% year over year and food costs went up by 9.7% in the last year.

That rate of inflation for groceries was the highest it's been since September 1981, more than 40 years ago.

As food prices went up in general, specific grocery items got more expensive too, including pasta (+19.6%), a cup of coffee (+13.7%), bread (+12.2%), meat (+10.1%), fresh fruit (+10%), fresh vegetables (+8.2%) and rice (+7.4%)!