Your grocery bill is much higher than it used to be.
The latest inflation numbers from Statistics Canada show that while overall inflation fell to 5.9 per cent in January, food prices are up 10.4 per cent compared to last year. That number is up slightly from December’s 10.1 per cent.
“Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many factors have impacted prices at the grocery store, such as supply chain disruptions, labour shortages, changes in consumer purchasing patterns, poor weather in some growing regions, tariffs, higher input costs and higher wages,” StatsCan said in a Nov. 2022 report about the rising cost of food.
The report adds that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also played a part because of the importance of both countries in food production.
The issue has proven serious enough to convince a parliamentary committee to launch a study of higher food prices and how government might address them. But experts tell CBC News governments don’t have many good options to bring food prices down — although they could offer relief for the poor and hungry.
Going after the grocers
While StatsCan has pointed to a wide range of factors leading to higher food prices, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has blamed privately-owned corporations. Singh has labelled the rising prices “greedflation.”
Singh has called for a new tax on grocery chain profits to address the issue. He said revenue from that tax could be used to help those struggling with their bills.
“Fifteen super-profitable industries — including the grocery sector — are driving inflation in Canada,” Singh said in a Dec. 2022 news release.
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should implement a windfall tax to make these big grocery chains pay what they owe.”
Meat prices shown in a Surrey, B.C. grocery store in Jan. 2023. A House of Commons committee is studying food price inflation in an effort to address rising prices. (Justine Boulin/CBC)
In testimony before the House of Commons agriculture and agrifood committee — the committee studying food price inflation — Jodat Hussein, Loblaw’s senior vice-president of retail finance, said most of the company’s profits are not coming from high margins on food. He said the company’s food suppliers increased their prices, which Loblaw then had to pass on to customers.
“We are dependent on what suppliers charge us when we set our retail prices,” Hussein told the committee in his December 2022 testimony.
“Fundamentally, grocery prices are up because the cost of what grocers buy from suppliers have gone up.”
Hussein said the company’s profits were coming from other areas Loblaw does business in, such as pharmaceuticals.
Mike von Massow, a food economist at the University of Guelph, said the committee’s questioning of grocery executives amounted to “political theatre.”
“I think there’s almost no evidence that the grocers are taking excessive margins right now,” he said. “It’s easy to blame the grocers because that’s where we’re feeling the pinch.”
Von Massow said sales of non-food items and a higher volume of grocery sales — driven in part by people eating out less — largely account for the higher profits.
But Valerie Tarasuk, a professor in the University of Toronto’s department of nutritional science, said the committee is doing important work by questioning the executives. She said there should be more government studies of how the Canadian grocery industry sets its prices.
“I think there needs to be more because I think it’s a very real question … There’s a lot of mystery in terms of how big food retailers operate,” she said.
“As we continue, month after month after month, to see these unprecedented levels of food price inflation, it begs the question of how come that’s happening, and what does it take to get it under control?”
The government could introduce price controls on certain food products to address food inflation. The move would effectively place a limit on how expensive those items could get.
Von Massow said such a policy could lead to empty store shelves.
“So if you say to a business … that there are two products that you can sell, one of which is price-controlled, the other one which you can make your normal margin on, you’re going to see them focus on the product that is that is more likely to give them a return,” he said.
Mike von Massow, a food economist at the University of Guelph, said many of the governments options to bring food prices down have drawbacks. (Hannah Yoon/The Canadian Press)
Rick Barichello, a professor in the University of British Columbia’s food and resource economics program, agreed that price freezes aren’t a good solution.
“They don’t really solve the problem of how do you get more supply on the shelves. In fact, they make that worse,” he said.
Another option is to place export controls on the food Canada produces, barring it from leaving the country and possibly pushing down domestic prices.
Von Massow said such an approach could be more trouble than it’s worth, given Canada’s international reputation as a reliable trading partner. Export bans could damage that reputation, he said.
Yet another option is for the federal government to bring in food subsidies. The government currently does this in Canada’s North through its Nutrition North Canada programs.
But Barichello said a subsidy on food products could be an expense government can’t afford right now.
“It has to be paid for by the government,” he said. “With government budgets being relatively constrained, then that’s a problem.”
The supply management question
The federal government could also dismantle or change Canada’s supply management system. The system allows the Canadian dairy, poultry and egg industries to limit supply of those foodstuffs, sets minimum prices and provides those sectors with protection from foreign competition.
Critics of supply management have said it artificially inflates food prices. Its supporters say it’s necessary to financially support Canadian agriculture.
Tarasuk said it’s important to note that, unlike other products on grocery store shelves, the prices of supply managed items are at least partially under the federal government’s control right now.
“I think it’s worth the federal government thinking through what kind of leverage it has there,” Tarasuk said.
“Because to see the price of commodities like milk rising in the way that it has, from a nutrition perspective, that’s very concerning.”
But von Massow said abolishing supply management would be a long and complicated affair — and would be unlikely to bring down prices significantly. He cited research he and colleagues have done on the subject.
“[It’s] always worth having a conversation about supply management, but there’s not a switch we can click and change that,” he said.
“I think people would be surprised at how how small the the benefit of getting rid of it might be.”
Tarasuk and von Massow agreed that governments’ best short-term option would be to provide targeted financial support to those affected most by food inflation, such as the poor and those on fixed incomes.
“There are a lot of people who are the working poor, people who are on assistance, people who are on fixed pensions who are struggling and already aren’t eating out and already are buying as cheaply as they can,” von Massow said.
“Perhaps there would be some justification to say rather than providing a universal subsidy for everybody, we provide some some direct payments to those people who need it the most.”
Long-term solutions
Governments may have to concede that there’s little they can do over the short term to address rising food prices.
But Barichello said the federal government can take steps to improve the resiliency and productivity of Canadian food production and supply chains, which could lower prices over the long run. He said those efforts could include loosening border restrictions for goods and farm workers, investing in research and innovation to improve food processing and supply chains and promoting more competition in the food industry.
“Even if governments started being more active on this now, you wouldn’t get any clear benefits on inflation for probably five years or more,” Barichello said.
“So those are long-run things that we can be doing, and should be doing, but in the short run there’s very little we can do.”
Von Massow said there’s another issue the government could address to bring down food prices in the longer term.
“Perhaps the best thing for us to do in the long run is to take more concrete action on climate change,” von Massow said.
“That’s a big part of what’s driving these extreme weather events and what’s driving some of these price increases.”
EDMONTON – The legendary k.d. lang got the band back together at the Canadian Country Music Association awards show.
Lang teamed up with the Reclines for the first time in 35 years to belt out “Big Boned Gal” from their last album together in 1989.
Clad in a blue and green western-style dress, lang strut across the stage in Edmonton to embody the “big boned gal from southern Alberta.”
The awards show saw Alberta’s MacKenzie Porter and Ontario’s Josh Ross take home hardware for being best female and male artists of the year.
Ross also won entertainer of the year and single of the year for “Trouble.”
Ontario artist Jade Eagleson won album of the year for “Do It Anyway.”
The James Barker Band from Woodville, Ont., won fans’ choice and group of the year.
During their acceptance speech, frontman Barker hinted at new music and a possible tour in 2025.
Ross says he and his band play roughly 150 shows every year and are never home, but says taking home entertainer of the year made the hard work worth it.
Porter won for female artist of the year and top video for “Chasing Tornadoes.”
The female artist win ends the five-year streak of Tenille Townes being awarded the coveted hardware.
Porter had been nominated seven times previously for the award in the past decade but hadn’t won until now.
The artist from Medicine Hat, Alta., says it takes a lot of hard work and hustle to succeed as a female in the country music industry and gave a shout out to her fellow singers and her newborn daughter.
Joining the two artists in the winners’ circle was Ontario singer-songwriter Owen Riegling, who won for breakthrough artist of the year.
The show began with American artist and co-host Thomas Rhett being dubbed an honorary Canadian by Edmonton Oilers players Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl.
Rhett donned an Oilers jersey that was gifted to him by the pair.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
EDMONTON – Ontario country artist Jade Eagleson has won album of the year at the 2024 Canadian Country Music Association Awards in Edmonton.
The singer from Bailieboro, Ont., was up for six awards alongside Alberta’s MacKenzie Porter.
Eagleson took home album of the year for “Do It Anyway” and says he’s thankful to his wife and management team for helping him reach the level he’s at.
The James Barker Band from Woodville, Ont., also won fans’ choice and group of the year at the award show, held in Edmonton.
During their acceptance speech, frontman Barker hinted at new music and a possible tour in 2025.
Another Ontario crooner, Josh Ross, has taken home a trio of awards, receiving entertainer of the year, male artist of the year and single of the year.
He says he and his band play roughly 150 shows every year and are never home, but says taking home entertainer of the year makes the hard work worth it.
Porter took home female artist of the year, ending the five-year streak of Tenille Townes being awarded the coveted hardware.
Porter had been nominated seven times previously for the award in the past decade but hadn’t won until tonight.
The artist from Medicine Hat, Alta., says it takes a lot of hard work and hustle to succeed as a female in the country music industry and gave a shout out to her fellow singers and her newborn daughter.
Joining the two artists in the winners’ circle was Ontario singer-songwriter Owen Riegling, who won for breakthrough artist of the year.
The show began with American artist and co-host Thomas Rhett being dubbed an honorary Canadian by Edmonton Oilers players Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl.
Rhett donned an Oilers jersey that was gifted to him by the pair.
The return of k.d. lang and the Reclines was expected to be a highlight of the show.
The appearance will mark the first time the Alberta songstress has teamed up with the band in 35 years and is tied to lang’s induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
The awards show is back in Alberta’s capital for the first time since 2014. It was held in Hamilton last year and in Calgary in 2022.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
VANDERHOOF, B.C. – British Columbia Conservatives are promising changes they say will bring more stability to the province’s struggling forest industry.
Leader John Rustad announced his plan for the sector a week before the official launch of the provincial election campaign, saying a Conservative government would do away with stumpage fees paid when timber is harvested and instead put a tax on the final products that are produced.
Rustad said Saturday that under a provincial Conservative government, a small fee may be charged upfront, but the bulk would come at the end of the process, depending on what type of product is created.
He also promised to review how wildfires are managed, as well as streamline the permit process and review what he calls the province’s “uncompetitive cost structure.”
“British Columbia is by far the highest cost producers of any jurisdiction in North America. We need to be able to drive down those costs, so that our forest sector can actually be able to do the reinvestment, to be able to create the jobs and make sure that they’re still there to be able to support our communities,” he said.
The governing New Democrats meanwhile, say eliminating stumpage fees would inflame the softwood lumber dispute with the United States and hurt forestry workers.
In a statement issued by the NDP, Andrew Mercier, the party’s candidate in Langley-Willowbrook, said Rustad failed to support the industry when he was in government under the former BC Liberals.
“Not only will Rustad’s old thinking and recycled ideas fail to deliver, his proposal to eliminate stumpage would inflame the softwood lumber dispute — punishing forestry workers and communities,” Mercier said, accusing Rustad of ignoring the complexity of the challenges facing the industry.
The softwood lumber dispute between the U.S. and Canada stretches back decades. In August, the U.S. Department of Commerce nearly doubled duties on softwood lumber.
International Trade Minister Mary Ng has said Canada has taken steps to launch two legal challenges under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.
Rustad said a provincial Conservative government would push hard to get a deal with the United States over the ongoing dispute “whether it’s with the rest of Canada or by itself.”
He said his party’s proposed changes are in the name of bringing “stability” and “hope” to the industry that has seen multiple closures of mills in rural communities over the last several years.
Most recently, Canfor Corp. decided to shutter two northern British Columbia sawmills earlier this month, leaving hundreds of workers unemployed by the end of the year.
According to the United Steelworkers union, Canfor has closed 10 mills in the province since November 2011, including nine in northern B.C.
Jeff Bromley, chair of the United Steelworkers wood council, said Saturday the idea of changes in favour of taxing the final product has been floated in the past.
He said the finer details of the Conservative plan will be important, but that the system needs to be improved and “new ideas are certainly something I’d be willing to entertain.”
“Something needs to happen, or the industry is just going to bleed and wither away and be a shadow of its former self,” Bromley said.
“Politics aside, if (Rustad) can come up with a policy that enables my members to work, then I would be supportive of that. But then I’m supportive of any government that would come up with policies and fibre for our mills to run. Period.”
When Canfor announced its latest closures, Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said the sector was a “foundational part” of the province and the current NDP government would work to support both local jobs and wood manufacturing operations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024
