NDP Leader Marit Stiles speaks at Queen's Park on February 23, 2023.

The provincial NDP is offering up several proposals it says will make life more affordable.

The opposition wants the Ford government to implement measures such as rent control, wage increase for childcare employees, making heat pumps at no cost, lowering the cost of groceries and doubling ODSP and Ontario Work payments.

Leader Marit Stiles says there are a lot of people struggling.

“I think a lot of Ontarians, including many middle-income Ontarians, are really struggling to figure out how they’re going to provide a decent holiday for their families, how they’re going to come up with even just some gifts for Christmas in their homes, how they’re going to put food on the table to celebrate various holidays across in the next few months,” says Stiles.

Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa says remote communities are being hit especially hard.

“Cost of living has an impact on the people. People lose hope. I think it’s just less than a month ago, we buried eleven year old girl. That’s the cost of trying to live. I think people need to understand that,” says Mamakwa.

Stiles says acceptance of their proposals would go a long way to addressing the affordability crisis.

She would like to see them in place before MPPs break for the Christmas holidays.

“In Conservative Ontario, life today is really, really hard for so many people. And Mr. Ford and his Conservative government are focused on building a luxury spa in downtown Toronto. That’s the legislation that he wants to rush through and force through in the last couple of days here in the legislature. How out of touch with the reality of so many people in our province,” says Stiles.