Canada and soaring food prices

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East We have had been assaulted with the budgets and endured the glowing predictions of the politicians in power. Now let's get back to reality. While green energy infatuated politicians continue to abuse taxpayers' money by pouring it into pie-in-the-sky futuristic projects, everyday Canadians are concerned with what they will put on the family dinner table. An example of these futuristic projects and major failures on the part of both politicians and the public service is the case of the two electric "green" ferries built in Romania, the Amherst Islander II and the Wolfe Islander IV. Built using the latest high technology available in the world, and delivered in the fall of 2021, they are still waiting to be put into service, because the clients operators lack the technology for charging their batteries. It seems that the high technology of the ferries surpassed the technology available in Canada. So, who cares that there was a major delay in the construction of the specialized dock, a landing platform providing a charger of 6MW necessary for recharging the ferries' batteries, currently expected to be ready by 2025. And why have we heard nothing about this in the official media, or from the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario, or the Federal green gurus in the Canadian government? With public money being spent so wisely, let us see what Canadians can expect in terms of food prices, which are closer to their hearts than politicians' green mania. According to a December 2022 report Canadians won't be getting a break from soaring food prices any time soon. The report forecasts that it will cost over $1,000 more to feed the average family of four in 2023. After a year of skyrocketing prices and grocers raking in profits while denying price gouging allegations, Canadians are set to see food prices rise by five to seven per cent more this year, the report found. Even a study by a parliamentary committee did not find or even recommend a solution. Canada's Food Price Report 2023, released in December 2022, estimates that price increases will mean an average Canadian family of four will spend around $16,288 per year on food, a jump of $1,065 compared to the yearly cost of food observed in 2022. The biggest increases are expected to be in the price of vegetables, dairy and meat. Vegetable prices are predicted to increase by six to eight per cent in 2023, the largest price jump for any one category of food. The smallest change is expected to be in the price of fruit, which is anticipated to increase by three to five per cent. This prediction of an overall increase by five to seven per cent for food prices in 2023 is the same prediction researchers made for 2022 - a prediction that turned out to be far too low. The food price increase recorded as of September 2022 was 10.3 per cent, the report admits, much higher than had been anticipated. At the time, the report's prediction of an increase of seven per cent "was considered by many to be alarmist," the new report stated. And yet, prices spiked even higher than expected. In 2022, Canada saw the highest rate of food inflation since the 1980s, according to the report. In 2022, vegetable prices increased by more than 12 per cent, while bakery items increased by nearly 15 per cent. Meat prices increased by 7.6 per cent, far above that category's predicted two per cent increase. In 2022, there were also nearly 1.5 million visits to food banks, with the usage in March 2022 being the highest of all time for that month. Food bank usage has been increasing since June 2020, the new report notes, and rising food prices are expected to keep this trend going as more and more Canadians find they can't afford to buy food. Is there anything that the average Canadian can do? Researchers recommend, motherhood advice as usual. Apparently, it's a good time to become a "smart shopper" and start using coupons and consulting flyers for specials, as well as finding cheaper alternatives to expensive brands. "We haven't seen food prices increase thismuch in Canada for over 40 years and based on our findings, the increases we have predicted are still quite high but not as high as the increases for 2022," Simon Somogyi, University of Guelph campus lead, said in the release. "That may be cold comfort for Canadians, as food prices are already high, but if inflation can come down, it's possible that we could see price increases for 2023 at or below 5 per cent." How likely is that, based on the recently published budgets and their dewey-eyed spending? Predictions are a dime a dozen. We need immediate and effective action to bring about solutions. Canadians need relief now. Ask your elected politicians of all stripes for their solutions.