By Jack Clark

Inflation

Inflation rates rise in May

Jun 22, 2022 | 4:50 PM

PRINCE GEORGE- Statistics Canada released the inflation numbers for the month of May this week.

A jump up to 7.7 per cent in a year is the highest Canada has seen since January of 1983, making living unaffordable for most Canadians.

“It’s forcing people to make changes to their household living expenses. They’re not buying fresh vegetables because they can’t afford to,” says Melody Desmarais of Beverley and Associates. “It’s also forcing Canadians with high debt into insolvency situations where they have to file consumer proposals or bankruptcies, which is hard in our economy, but it’s forcing people over the edge.”

Statistics Canada says the rise in gas and oil prices is due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, but one expert believes the government created the problem.

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“It’s because you have politicians that are spending like crazy and raising taxes. So, Canadians are struggling,” says Franco Terrazzano of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

While Gas prices rose 12 cents in May alone, a significant factor in the uptick in inflation was rising energy prices, which are 34.8 per cent higher now than one year ago.

“We saw the Trudeau government impose Bill C-69, the No More Pipelines law. We saw the Trudeau government impose Bill C-48,” said Terrazzano. “It just seems like our energy industry has received blow after blow after blow from politicians in Canada. Of course, that is now making these tough times tougher.”

Along with gas and energy, the cost of groceries continues to rise. The price of edible fats and oils is up 30 per cent in a year, and fresh vegetables are up over 10 per cent simultaneously.