Cost of food, housing and gas rising fast: Experts
Antonella Artuso
Published:
October 12, 2019
Updated:
October 12, 2019 7:12 PM EDT
(Getty Images)
Experts say some of the basics — housing, food, energy — are going up at a rate that threatens to overwhelm household budgets.
FOOD
Sylvain Charlebois, a Dalhousie University professor of Food Distribution and Policy, said a recent Angus Reid Global survey conducted with the university’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab found three out of every five Canadians see food security and affordability as one of the most important issues in this federal election.
“The results point to how much Canadians are under pressure financially,” Charlebois said. “Vegetables are up 18% year to year, overall we’re looking at an increase (in food prices) of over 2.5%, which is actually a little higher than the core inflation rate.”
The costs of buying meals outside the home, common when people work outside the home, are up 4% this year, he said.
“It effects everyone every single day,” Charlebois said. “People are looking at prices way more than ever before.”
“On average, the Canadian household will spend anywhere between 10-15% of its budget on food,” Charlebois said. “Food affordability was barely mentioned during this campaign, so absolutely I do think this is a disappointment.”
(Postmedia Network file photo)
HOUSING
Josh Gordon, Simon Fraser University assistant professor at the School of Public Policy, said the housing market in Toronto, as in Vancouver, has decoupled from the local labour market.
In other words, it’s very difficult to purchase a home on a regular salary.
Foreign investment in real estate is the main driver of this disconnect, as a substantial portion of the money available at any one time to buy a home is coming from non-resident investors, he said.
Federal parties promising to address pocketbook pressures
GOLDSTEIN: The fiscal follies of Justin Trudeau
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Local residents then find themselves competing with professional salaries for the so-called “cheaper” properties, he said.
“There has been a recognition in this campaign about the problems with foreign ownership,” he said. “The Liberal Party has put forward some version of a vacancy tax that applies mainly to non-resident non-Canadians … and the NDP has announced the potential for a foreign-buyer tax that’s applied broadly. But neither proposal addresses the dynamic of decoupling and foreign ownership nearly as effectively and aggressively as they could.”
The Conservative proposals, to review the mortgage stress test and allow 30-year amortization periods, shows no appetite to tackle the issue of foreign ownership, Gordon said.
Gas prices are sky-high thanks in part to the Liberal government’s carbon tax. (Stan Behal/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network)
ENERGY
Dan McTeague, a petroleum/energy industry analyst, said Liberal government rebates offered in exchange for putting a carbon tax on fuels, like gasoline and natural gas, only cover the added cost if everything remains average — the temperature in winter, the number of kids in a family.
“Thank you for the $300 but if this year I’m using 70 litres a week taking my four kids around, I know full well that most of us are going to wind up with less than we began with and that’s likely to be disruptive and it’s likely to lead to a significant problem with affordability, especially when it comes to home heating,” he said.
People will also likely be expected to cover additional business costs for moving items around like food to grocery stores, he said.
Liberals would keep and increase the price of the carbon tax while offering rebates to offset the costs for the majorities, NDP would continue with the Liberal plan but end their exemptions for large polluters, and the Conservatives would kill the carbon tax.
aartuso@postmedia.com
http://torontosun.com/news/national/cost-of-food-housing-and-gas-rising-fast-experts
Antonella Artuso
Published:
October 12, 2019
Updated:
October 12, 2019 7:12 PM EDT
(Getty Images)
Experts say some of the basics — housing, food, energy — are going up at a rate that threatens to overwhelm household budgets.
FOOD
Sylvain Charlebois, a Dalhousie University professor of Food Distribution and Policy, said a recent Angus Reid Global survey conducted with the university’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab found three out of every five Canadians see food security and affordability as one of the most important issues in this federal election.
“The results point to how much Canadians are under pressure financially,” Charlebois said. “Vegetables are up 18% year to year, overall we’re looking at an increase (in food prices) of over 2.5%, which is actually a little higher than the core inflation rate.”
The costs of buying meals outside the home, common when people work outside the home, are up 4% this year, he said.
“It effects everyone every single day,” Charlebois said. “People are looking at prices way more than ever before.”
“On average, the Canadian household will spend anywhere between 10-15% of its budget on food,” Charlebois said. “Food affordability was barely mentioned during this campaign, so absolutely I do think this is a disappointment.”
(Postmedia Network file photo)
HOUSING
Josh Gordon, Simon Fraser University assistant professor at the School of Public Policy, said the housing market in Toronto, as in Vancouver, has decoupled from the local labour market.
In other words, it’s very difficult to purchase a home on a regular salary.
Foreign investment in real estate is the main driver of this disconnect, as a substantial portion of the money available at any one time to buy a home is coming from non-resident investors, he said.
Federal parties promising to address pocketbook pressures
GOLDSTEIN: The fiscal follies of Justin Trudeau
LILLEY: Trudeau drops, Singh bounces as voters turn from Liberals
Local residents then find themselves competing with professional salaries for the so-called “cheaper” properties, he said.
“There has been a recognition in this campaign about the problems with foreign ownership,” he said. “The Liberal Party has put forward some version of a vacancy tax that applies mainly to non-resident non-Canadians … and the NDP has announced the potential for a foreign-buyer tax that’s applied broadly. But neither proposal addresses the dynamic of decoupling and foreign ownership nearly as effectively and aggressively as they could.”
The Conservative proposals, to review the mortgage stress test and allow 30-year amortization periods, shows no appetite to tackle the issue of foreign ownership, Gordon said.
Gas prices are sky-high thanks in part to the Liberal government’s carbon tax. (Stan Behal/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network)
ENERGY
Dan McTeague, a petroleum/energy industry analyst, said Liberal government rebates offered in exchange for putting a carbon tax on fuels, like gasoline and natural gas, only cover the added cost if everything remains average — the temperature in winter, the number of kids in a family.
“Thank you for the $300 but if this year I’m using 70 litres a week taking my four kids around, I know full well that most of us are going to wind up with less than we began with and that’s likely to be disruptive and it’s likely to lead to a significant problem with affordability, especially when it comes to home heating,” he said.
People will also likely be expected to cover additional business costs for moving items around like food to grocery stores, he said.
Liberals would keep and increase the price of the carbon tax while offering rebates to offset the costs for the majorities, NDP would continue with the Liberal plan but end their exemptions for large polluters, and the Conservatives would kill the carbon tax.
aartuso@postmedia.com
http://torontosun.com/news/national/cost-of-food-housing-and-gas-rising-fast-experts
