The Canadian Government has unveiled plans to ‘make life more affordable’ for the folks who elected it. The headline measure is a new Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, with payments starting to show up in July of this year. But there are no plans to clamp down on the supermarkets…
“Our government is taking direct action to make life more affordable for Canadians. We are providing immediate relief on groceries and essentials, while strengthening domestic food production, compet-ition, and supply chains to build a more resilient, affordable economy for the future,” Minister of Finance and National Revenue, the Hon. François-Philippe Champagne, said in a statement.
Part of a broader initiative
The Grocery benefit is part of a larger initiative designed not only to provide financial relief for strapped Canadians, but to ‘tackle food insecurity’ by helping address the costs of supply chain disruptions without passing those costs on to Canadians at the checkout line.
Other measures include renegotiating international trade agreements, stabilizing the economy and creating jobs largely through new home building programs.
“Our plan is moving Canada’s economy from reliance to resilience, though some of the biggest long-term payoffs of this transformation will take time to be felt,” the official news release states.
Focus on the Grocery benefit
The CGEB is, in fact, an evolution of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Credit. The feds are increasing it by 25 percent for five years beginning this coming July.
In addition to that, the government is providing a one-time payment, equivalent to a 50 percent increase this year. Combined, this means that a family of four will receive up to $1,890 this year, and about $1,400 a year for the next four years; and a single person will receive up to $950 this year, and about $700 a year for the next four years.
My take
It’s about time.
I’ve been saying the government should be doing something concrete to ensure that all Canadians can afford sufficient decent food for themselves and their families.
Alas… The new benefit does not address the root cause of unrelenting high food prices: Excessive profits being skimmed from Canadians’ pockets by the major supermarket chains.
Loblaw’s – the largest of the so-called Big 5 Canadian grocery collectives – has just announced it’s about to unveil its latest quarterly financial report. Will its profits once again be up in the double digits?
~ Maggie J.