Warren Steinley

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart. Ken Krawetz, one of the Saskatchewan Party's founding members, passed away, and his life is being celebrated in Yorkton today. Born and raised in the Invermay area, he was first elected to the provincial legislature in 1995. Krawetz would later be an integral piece in forming the new Saskatchewan Party and changing the political landscape in Saskatchewan forever. In 2007, Ken served as deputy premier under Brad Wall and held the portfolios of education and finance. As much as Ken loved his province, he loved his family that much more. To his wife Gail, son Bryce, daughter Lindsay, and the two loves of his life, his granddaughters Willow and Scarlett, I thank them so much for sharing Ken with us. He was a man of character and integrity and led with his whole heart. Ken and I served together with former premier Brad Wall. Brad always said that the goal of politicians should be to leave things better than they found them. Ken took these words to heart. Saskatchewan is a better place to live now because of the service of Ken Krawetz. Wieczna pamięć.

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to join in adjournment debates this evening. I asked a question in May, before we adjourned for the summer, about microlooting and said the most popular talk show in Regina and across Saskatchewan, The Evan Bray Show, talked about whether it is okay to steal groceries or microloot at grocery stores because grocery prices are so high. I asked the minister that question. The answer I got back was not sufficient, in my opinion. She actually talked about day care when I was talking about the price of groceries. I think it is an important conversation because we are talking about the price of groceries and basically the affordability crisis that we are seeing right now across the country. I think the hon. member for Whitby is going to answer this question, so I am going to make it short and sweet. I know he has a family. I have three kids, and my wife and I go grocery shopping. Have the member and his wife seen grocery prices go down over the last three years or go up?

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Whitby, but he did not answer the question, because he does not want to tell the actual truth about what is going on with grocery prices. He is kind of channelling his inner Jean Chrétien: A proof is a proof. The member talked about child care. Well, if a person is lucky enough to hit the lottery and get a government-subsidized child care spot, they are saving that money, but for everyone across Saskatchewan, it is actually called a child care wasteland because there are so few spots. In Saskatchewan, 30% to 40% of the people are waiting for that subsidized child care spot. They are not saving the money this guy is talking about. It is actually ridiculous. Also, I have friends who have kids in child care now, and because the money does not actually cover the cost to hire people and to feed the kids, they are charging parents another $100 or $200 to help cover the cost. Parents are paying more out of their pocket because the money the government has given for the day care spots does not cover the cost it is supposed to, for those children to get the care they want, so I—

Madam Speaker, I think my hon. colleague from Whitby got confused; I think he read a 2024 speech that he read a couple of years ago. I remember in this House when the now finance minister promised that grocery prices would be down by Thanksgiving and that was in 2024. Members will remember he called all the grocery CEOs together and said, “That is it. We are going to have lower grocery prices by Thanksgiving.” I am wondering if there are any updates to the member's speech on whether grocery prices have lowered since 2024.

Madam Speaker, we have heard this talking point over and over from the Liberals' side: There are world factors on the oil prices that are increasing diesel prices in Canada. However, Canada paid roughly 24¢ a litre more for diesel than Americans did last month and paid 31¢ more than the global average last month. If global conflicts are doing this, why are we paying 24¢ more than Americans and 31¢ more than the global average? It does not make any sense.