HALIFAX - As the affordability crisis and overall inflation continues to impact Canadians across the country, a new national survey from Narrative Research showed 76 per cent said the cost of food and groceries had the biggest impact on their household finances. Forty-seven per cent said gas is also a significant financial pressure, followed by mortgage and rent at 33 per cent. Electricity, household maintenance and repairs, and home heating have also caused high levels of financial anxiety for Canadians. “The magnitude of the impact of the cost of living on those daily pressures of groceries and gas is really quite startling,” said Narrative Research chief operating officer, Margaret Chapman. Stephen Hills, 66, is retired. He lives on a military pension and cannot believe how much he must pay for food at the grocery store. “It’s getting out of control, especially for seniors on a fixed income,” said Hills. It’s also a tough financial picture for Hannah Giffin who has two young children. Filling her grocery cart with food for her family is never a cheap process. “Every time I go into the store, the prices seem to be higher,” said Giffin. But on the brighter side, some food items have dropped in price in Canada over the last month. But pork, salmon, and apples are still expensive and have increased in cost. “The food inflation rate is at 3.9 per cent and is the highest among G7 countries,” said Dalhousie University professor and food researcher, Sylvain Charlebois. “But things are slow and slowing down, and we are seeing fewer pressure points as we speak right now.” Giffin has witnessed affordability issues force some young people to make difficult lifestyle decisions. “A lot of people have to make choices,” she said. “If they want to have kids, but they’re not going to have kids because they haven’t bought a house and haven’t paid off their student loan.” According to Chapman, financial pressures are generally causing Canadians to feel an overwhelming level of despair. “People are feeling this ongoing weariness with cost-of-living increases,” said Chapman, who added as those increases continue, many Canadians do not anticipate any level of financial relief, and they fear high prices across the board could be here to stay.
