BY BOB ZIMMER
Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies MP
Did you notice your bank account getting deflated quicker than usual this year? You’re not alone.
This has been a common topic of conversation overheard many times in grocery store check-out lines across, not only the region, but the country as well. Encompassing everything from dairy, bakery and produce to imports, the increase is being felt in the pocketbooks of Canadians. It has been said that “JustinFlation is coming to a grocery store near you,” I think it’s safe to say that it has.
In 2021 a four-person Canadian household spent, on average, a total of $13,801 on food and groceries. Prices are expected to increase by roughly $966 for that same family, bringing the average household bill to $14,767. This is almost double what Canadians paid when our Conservative government was in power in 2015.
Many of you have asked where that extra money and price increase is supposed to come from when the wages aren’t following suit. 60 per cent of Canadians with kids under 18 are concerned they might not have enough money to feed their family.
Over the last two years, throughout this entire pandemic, Canadians have faced business closures, reduced hours and even loss of employment. This rising cost in food stands to truly affect many Canadians and will only add to the hardships they have been facing. In fact, the most recent edition of Canada’s Food Price Report predicts this will also increase the number of people relying on food banks.
As my colleague Pierre Poilievre, Shadow Minister for Finance said: “It is clear that Conservatives are the only party focused on getting costs down, fighting the rising cost of food in Canada and ending Trudeau’s inflation tax.”
As we are all too aware, the cost of living and affordability has always been an issue in northern and remote communities such as ours and it has gotten much worse in the last six years. I will continue to work hard to bring to light these struggles and fight for our communities that are facing out of control inflation.
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