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Why the government’s grocery rebate may not do enough to help struggling Canadians

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Grocery rebate cheques are landing in Canadian bank accounts today, but some residents say it isn’t nearly enough to tackle the problem of food insecurity and the rise in cost of living.

Toronto resident Diane Lane says she received about $200 in her bank account Wednesday. While she’s thankful for the help, she says it’s only enough to keep her going, not get ahead.

“I’m a senior, I live on old age pension, I pay market rent, I live alone, and the food is taking everything I have,” Lane, 70, told CBC News outside a Toronto Walmart.

“It’ll fill my freezer, I might be fine for maybe two months,” she said. “And then I’ll be right back to where I am right now.”

The federal government has billed the one-time payment as targeted inflation relief for some 11 million low- and modest-income households. Single Canadians without children are no longer eligible for the rebate if they earn more than $49,166 a year, while families with four children continue to receive the payments until they earn more than $64,946.

But residents like Lane say that while the rebate can ease difficulties temporarily, it falls short of tackling the issues underpinning food insecurity and the rising cost of living. Still, thousands of Canadians aren’t covered under this new program, even if they’re struggling to make due.

“Even working couples, the raises aren’t coming fast enough to compensate with the cost of living, especially food,” said Lane.

“And I don’t know anybody who can survive without food.”

The grocery rebate is here — but some are already asking if it’s enough

 

Radio-Canada went to a No Frills in Toronto to hear what some shoppers were expecting ahead of the rollout of the federal government’s targeted grocery rebate program, which launched this week.

One-time payment is a ‘legitimate’ trade-off: economist

Despite the overall slowdown, the price of food continued to rise at a fast pace in May. Grocery prices went up almost nine per cent on a year-over-year basis — barely lower than the 9.1 per cent rate clocked in April and still almost three times the overall inflation rate.

Peter Dungan, an economic analysis and policy associate professor at the University of Toronto, says that as a rule of thumb, government spending aimed at offsetting the effects of inflation will, to some extent, make the problem worse.

“Any expenditure will make the Bank of Canada’s job harder in terms of cooling down the economy, which is what needs to be done to mitigate inflation,” said Dungan.

But inflation, combined with high interest rates, has likely been hurting low to middle-income earners more than high earners, he said. Despite the hiccup the move to offer a one-time rebate can produce, Dungan said it’s a “legitimate” reaction and “trade-off” between equity and the fight against inflation.

“It’s being very much directed at lower-income families,” Dungan said. “I don’t really have a problem with it.”

What more can be done?

Derek Cook, the director of the Canadian Poverty Institute in Calgary, says the policy is a “welcome” start aimed at helping low-income Canadians.

But he said the federal government can’t do everything itself — provincial governments need to do their part in raising social assistance rates and keeping wages in line with the cost of living.

“We need to think about this in terms of human rights, that we actually have an obligation to guarantee the right to food for people in this country,” said Cook.

What you need to know about the grocery rebate

 

Your top two questions are likely, ‘Do I qualify and how much will I get?’

Jim Mulvale, a social work professor at the University of Manitoba, says the move is particularly helpful because it gives people freedom in where to spend their money — some residents may choose to dedicate the extra funds to housing or childcare costs instead.

That’s why he hopes the rebates will help spur a broader and more comprehensive measure, like a basic income program.

“If one wants to be optimistic, one might see this as a signal that the Liberal government is open to … income tested, unconditional transfers to people that need money,” Mulvale said.

While it’s possible the amount of the rebate is only a “drop in the bucket” when it comes to meeting each family’s expenses, Dungan said that overall, the measure will likely cost upwards of $1 billion. Additionally, he said it allows the government to claim it’s doing something about the problem.

But over the long-term, Dungan says the government may be able to offset the pressures of high grocery prices by encouraging more competition in the sector, or, in light of the rising cost of living, changing the tax scheme so less is taken from lower-income households.

“There’s certain things that could be done to perhaps mitigate some of the price pressures we’re under, but those should have been done whether we had two per cent inflation or six per cent,” said Dungan.

 

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Christian McCaffrey is placed on injured reserve for the 49ers and will miss at least 4 more games

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries.

The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to return for a Thursday night game in Seattle on Oct. 10.

McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis last week. He was a late scratch for the opener on Monday night against the Jets and now is sidelined again after experiencing pain following practice on Thursday.

McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.

The Niners made up for McCaffrey’s absence thanks to a strong performance from backup Jordan Mason, who had 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Mason is set to start again Sunday at Minnesota.

After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.

He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.

Now San Francisco will likely rely heavily on Mason, a former undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech who had 83 carries his first two seasons. He had at least 10 touches just twice before the season opener, when his 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player in a regular-season game since Frank Gore had 31 against Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.

The Niners also have fourth-round rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. on the active roster. Guerendo played three offensive snaps with no touches in the opener. Taylor had 65 carries for Green Bay from 2021-23.

San Francisco also elevated safety Tracy Walker III from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.

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AP NFL:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Canada’s Newman, Arop secure third-place finishes at Diamond League track event

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BRUSSELS – Canada walked away with some hardware at the Diamond League track and field competition Saturday.

Alysha Newman finished third in women’s pole vault, while Marco Arop did the same in the men’s 800-metre race.

Newman won a bronze medal in her event at the recent Paris Olympics. Arop grabbed silver at the same distance in France last month.

Australia’s Nina Kennedy, who captured gold at the Summer Games, again finished atop the podium. Sandi Morris of the United States was second.

Newman set a national record when she secured Canada’s first-ever pole vault medal with a bronze at the Olympics with a height of 4.85 metres. The 30-year-old from London, Ont., cleared 4.80 metres in her second attempt Saturday, but was unable conquer 4.88 metres on three attempts.

Arop, a 25-year-old from Edmonton, finished the men’s 800 metres with a time of one minute 43.25 seconds. Olympic gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya was first with a time of 1:42.70.

Djamel Sedjati, edged out by Arop for silver in Paris last month, was second 1:42.87

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Bologna prepares for Champions League debut with draw at Como while Juventus held

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MILAN (AP) — Bologna’s preparations for its Champions League debut are not going well though it managed to spoil Como’s first Serie A home match in 21 years on Saturday.

Bologna came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw to gather three points from its opening four matches.

Bologna hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Its only other appearance in Europe’s top competition was in 1964 in the preliminary round of the old European Cup.

AC Milan is also winless as it prepares for a Tuesday Champions League match against Liverpool. The Rossoneri hosted promoted Venezia later. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0.

Como made a great start in the fifth minute when Patrick Cutrone attempted to roll the ball across the six-yard box but it took a huge deflection off Bologna defender Nicolò Casale for an own goal.

Bologna thought it was gifted a way back into the match on the stroke of halftime when referee Marco Piccinini signalled for a penalty following an Alberto Moreno handball, but he revoked his decision and instead gave a free kick because the handball was just outside the area.

Bologna improved after the break but found itself further behind when Cutrone raced onto a through ball and cut inside past a defender and fired into the far bottom corner.

Tommaso Pobega hit the post for Bologna, which finally pulled one back in the 76th through substitute Santiago Castro.

Another substitute helped the visitors snatch a point when Samuel Iling-Junior curled a fine strike into the top left corner in stoppage time.

Unbeaten sides

Juventus, and more surprisingly Empoli, are among six unbeaten sides.

Empoli held Monza and Bologna to draws either side of a shock 2-1 win at Roma. Juventus’ perfect start to the season was ruined by Roma in a goalless draw before the international break.

On Saturday, there were few clearcut chances in Empoli although home goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made spectacular saves to fingertip out a Federico Gatti header and deny Dusan Vlahovic in a one on one with the Juventus forward.

Empoli had a good opportunity in the 73rd minute following an Alberto Grassi one-two with Pietro Pellegri but the finish was straight at Mattia Perin.

The host could have won it right at the death but Gatti flew in with a great sliding block to keep out Emanuel Gyasi’s close-range effort.

Juventus hosts PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.

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AP soccer:

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