The Cost of Living Crisis: Government Should Use the Tools It Already Has to Help.
If you’ve been to the grocery store lately, you know something isn’t right. Prices have skyrocketed, wages have struggled to keep up, and everyday essentials are becoming luxuries. I did the numbers using Stats Canada’s own CPI data(Consumer Price Index). Canadians now pay 22.88 percent more for food at the grocery store. Thi, when compared to wages and using what economists call the “real wage,” makes it clear our purchasing power has decreased enormously.
But here’s the thing—our government has the data and the tools to tackle this crisis. They’re just choosing not to use them. Why? We’ll get there.
What is a Basic Basket?
The concept of a basic basket isn’t complicated. It refers to a set of essential goods and services—things like food, housing, transportation, and other necessities—that an average household needs to get by. Statistics Canada tracks this information. Every month, they collect and analyze data on the cost of 700 essential goods and services, allowing us to measure how inflation impacts Canadians. This data feeds into the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which governments use to understand economic trends and set policy. Its important to note than in Canada and the US these numbers are used by investors to comodify our consumption habits whereas in most of the world they are used to protect consumers.
How This Data Could Be Used to Reduce Inflation
Governments have the ability to intervene when inflation threatens people’s ability to afford basic goods. Countries around the world have taken proactive steps to keep prices under control by establishing price controls or windfall taxes. Some governments have temporarily limited price increases on essential goods or taxed corporations based on their record profits during inflationary periods and use the money to subsidize basic goods.
The CPI can also be a great tool to crack down on corporate price gouging. When companies take advantage of inflation as an excuse to raise prices beyond what’s necessary, governments have the tools to investigate and regulate these practices and legislate limits that help keep inflation down. However, we in Canada have failed to do that.
Other countries have used the public purse to create publicly owned distribution & grocery options. Several European countries have public grocery options that prevent price manipulation by private monopolies. Canada could do the same.
So, if we have the data and examples of effective policies, why hasn’t our government acted?
The answer is simple: Liberals and Conservatives are protecting their corporate friends. Both the Liberals and Conservatives have had the power to step in both nationally and provincially, yet neither has made meaningful moves to curb grocery price inflation or regulate monopolistic corporations in retail, transportation,energy and food distribution.
We know grocer billionaires fund their campaigns. We know that Galen Weston and his family have made large donations to both the Liberals and the Conservatives. They have close relationships with political leaders, attending fundraisers and influencing policy decisions to protect profits. We have even given both the Sobey family and the Westons tens of millions of dollars in subsidies. When it comes to food in the north, we gave the biggest grocery giants $131 million a year to make food cheaper in a program that delivered almost no results.
We also know that retail giants set the agenda. Canada’s biggest grocery chains are owned by a few billionaire families, and they control the market. With no competition, they raise prices at will—as they did in the pandemic—and neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives have challenged them. Remember during the pandemic when they all got into a room and made their own “code of conduct” to prevent gouging? The first item in their “code” was: “To allow for a thriving industry.” Not exactly designed for your benefit.
There are also transportation and distribution monopolies. Big corporations controlling fuel distribution, trucking, food distribution, and storage have pushed for deregulation and price hikes, and they’ve been met with little resistance from the government. Transportation and warehousing make up 3.4% of our GDP, and it’s mostly concentrated among four large companies.
Wages vs. Grocery Prices: The Growing Gap
Food prices have risen by 22.88% since 2020, while average wages have increased at a much slower pace. Wage growth has barely kept pace with the rising cost of groceries, leaving most Canadians with a decrease in purchasing power. And it’s not just groceries—most services, car repairs, gas, and heating all cost more than wages have kept up with.
A study by the Broadbent Institute demonstrated record corporate profits were a large contributor to inflation and in Canada oil and gas profiteering accounted for nearly all of the cost hikes on gas prices affecting the cost of every good in the country. These are just s couple of examples where government needed to step in to protect us.
Corporate grocery chains post record profits while working families are struggling to make ends meet. This isn’t just inflation—it’s price gouging and corporate greed, made worse by a government that refuses to intervene.
It’s Time for Real Change
The cost of living crisis isn’t inevitable—it’s a policy choice. The government already collects the data to track inflation’s impact, but it refuses to act on it. Instead of protecting corporate profits, we need people in Ottawa who will fight for working people, renters, and families trying to afford basic necessities.
As your representative, I will push for a “Basic Basket Legislation” that will limit the power grocery giants have over your personal finances by creating price caps on all 700 basic goods and services across the country. I also want to push for public options for essential goods, including government-backed grocery alternatives, and most importantly, fair wage policies to ensure salaries keep up with the REAL cost of living.
We need action. We need voices that will push the government to work for people, not corporate lobbyists and wealthy donors.
Let’s make it happen together. Come join us!.
