With the cost of living rising at the fastest pace in decades, Canadians struggling to put food on the table are turning to community organizations for help.
The Community Food Centre in Stratford, Ont., says foot traffic has doubled at its discounted produce markets, where local produce is sold at lower prices than grocery stores. According to the centre, customers are spending twice as much at the market as they used to a few months ago.
“People come who never used to come,” said Derek Barnes, a community engagement facilitator. “And people for the first time, they’re saying, `these prices might be too much for me.”‘
Food prices in June were 8.8 per cent higher than a year ago. With the cost of everything from fresh produce to meat to baked goods becoming more unaffordable, and incomes lagging behind inflation, community advocates and experts are concerned about the affect on people living on the margins.
The annual inflation rate in June was 8.1 per cent, the highest it’s been since 1983.
In comparison, average hourly wages rose by 5.2 per cent.
Barnes said their organization has been focused on filling bellies, particularly during the pandemic, but now it’s time for governments to ensure people have sufficient incomes so that they don’t need to rely on assistance from emergency food organizations.
“We want people in our community not just surviving, but thriving,” Barnes said.
Valerie Tarasuk, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, said food insecurity has likely only become worse with inflation on the rise.
“We have to deal with the incomes of people who are food insecure,” Tarasuk said. “There’s no way our food charity system can deal with this problem.”
These measures should be directed at Canadians on fixed incomes and low-wage earners, she added.
Most provincial governments don’t index social assistance benefits to inflation. And while federal programs are indexed, it takes time for inflation to be reflected on people’s cheques.
The NDP has called on the federal government to provide immediate relief by doubling the GST tax credit and boosting the Canada Child Benefit by $500.
Both benefits are means-tested, so these proposed measures would send additional money to Canadians with low to moderate incomes.
The NDP has said those benefits could be financed through additional taxes on corporations that have seen profits rise during the pandemic.
But the Liberals have rejected that call.
Former parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page said the Liberal government’s last budget does include substantial increases in support, although it was tabled before inflation rose so dramatically.
The 2022 budget included several measures meant to improve affordability: a 10 per cent increase to Old Age Security pensions for Canadians over the age of 75 and a one-time $500 housing affordability payment to low-income Canadians.
However, Page said pressure on the federal government to provide inflation-related relief will continue to mount.
“Providing transitional support for vulnerable people in an environment (where) you have high and rising inflation, people falling behind, I think politicians can’t turn a cheek to that. They shouldn’t,” Page said.
Page said targeted measures, such as boosting the GST tax credit, would be appropriate. At the same time, policymakers need to be cautious of not going “too far beyond that,” he said.
Randall Bartlett, Desjardins’ director of Canadian economics, said inflation is undoubtedly impacting low-income Canadians the most.
According to a Statistics Canada survey conducted in the spring, 85 per cent of Canadians in the bottom 20 per cent of income earners reported their ability to meet day-to-day expenses has been impacted a lot or somewhat.
However, Bartlett cautioned against boosting income transfers, saying that would fuel more inflation.
“Transfers to low-income households are the most inflationary type of transfer, as they largely go toward consumption,” the economist said in an email. “That’s why governments tend to lean on this as a stimulus tool during recessions.”
Instead, Bartlett said it would be best for the federal government to stick with the plan it laid out in the budget, “in order to give certainty to the Bank of Canada around the fiscal policy environment while still provide ongoing support to vulnerable Canadians.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2022.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
