Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
The average family of four in Canada can expect to spend $966 more on food in 2022 than they did in 2021.
That’s according to a new report published on Thursday by researchers with Dalhousie University, the University of Guelph, the University of Saskatchewan and the University of British Columbia.
The 12th edition of Canada’s Food Price Report projects that in 2022 the average family of four will spend up to $14,767 on food.
The report said overall, food prices are expected to increase by five to seven per cent in 2022, as the country grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing supply chain issues.
But which items will cost more and where? Here’s a closer look at what the report says.
The report’s authors split food into several categories to determine which items will cost more, and by how much.
Here’s a look at the projections for 2022.
According to the report, it will also cost Canadians more to eat out, with prices at restaurants expected to increase by six to eight per cent in 2022.
“Menu prices at restaurants are predicted to increase as businesses contend with rising food prices, rising commercial rents and labour market challenges,” the report reads.
Sylvain Charlebois, who co-authored the report, is a professor at Dalhousie University and the scientific director at Agri-Food Analytics Lab.
He said while the situation is complicated, there are three main factors that are causing food prices to increase.
First, Charlebois said, commodity process are going up.
“That’s really making everything more expensive in the agri-food sector,” he said in a telephone interview with CTVNews.ca. “Including feeding livestock, to making food, to processing, etc.”
The second factor, he said, is labour.
“We’re seeing more and more of the fact that salaries are going up – which is great,” he said. “But in a high-volume, low-margin environment you have to make adjustments with prices.”
The third factor causing prices to increase is logistics, Charlebois explained.
“Transportation is costing more,” he said. “And so some products are more affected than others.”
The authors of the report say they are expecting some “important lingering issues to impact global food supply chains” in 2022.
“With limited access to some ingredients and higher input costs, we anticipate less choice as food processors and manufacturers will consolidate their portfolio of brands,” the report reads.
There will also be fewer menu choices and higher menu prices at restaurants.
“We will continue to feel the effects of ongoing supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19, labour market challenges and high inflation in 2022,” the report said. “Companies may experience high international shipping costs and empty shelves as a result.”
Charlebois said food price increases are a trend Canadians will have to get used to.
“I actually do think that higher prices are here to stay,” he said. “And we’re going to have to get accustomed to higher food bills.”
However, Charlebois said there are ways to save at the grocery store.
He said if consumers are flexible and “food literate” they can find good deals for their food.
Charlebois said if consumers are willing to switch brands or shop at multiple stores, they can save some money at the register.
“If you're very specific, you don't shift your expectations, [and] you’re very difficult -- of course you’re going to pay more,” he said.
The authors of the report say climate change is also impacting food prices.
“In 2022, we can anticipate the ongoing effects of the continuing climate crisis and adverse weather effects on food prices,” the report reads.
The authors say wildfires, record-breaking heat and drought, floods and cold fronts are “becoming increasingly commonplace and affecting food prices year after year.”
“For certain food categories that have felt the impact of adverse weather in 2021, we may yet see an increase in costs because of forward-buying in the chain—for example, meat and grain,” the report says.
According to the report, food prices will vary across the country.
The report projects some provinces – Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Saskatchewan -- will all experience above average food price increases.
Other provinces – such as Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec -- are expected to see below average food price increases.
The authors of the report warn that in 2022, food insecurity will “be a big issue as Canadians grapple with rising prices.”
“There will likely be more demand for and reliance on food programs or food banks if incomes do not rise to meet food expenditures and other basic needs,” the report reads.
The authors said organizations that provide aid to those experiencing food insecurity might have difficulty meeting increased demand -- something many have already seen.
"People who have made a certain amount of money and always got by are not getting by anymore. And as things have increased, we're seeing people at the window who've never asked for help," Evelyn McNulty, executive director at Romero House, a St. John, N.L.-based soup kitchen, told CTV National News.Charlebois said the main issue is food affordability.
“In 2020, Canada was ranked 18th in the world when it came to food affordability, according to the United Nations,” he said. “So we're not first, but we're not 100 and 50th, either.”
However, in 2021, Canada ranked 24th on that list.
“And if you asked me in 2022, we’re likely to drop even more in the rankings,” Charlebois said. “And that’s a concern – meaning wages aren’t going up [and] some people are being left behind. That’s the biggest concern.”
Read the complete report here:
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Calgary police shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers dealt with a distraught individual. The incident lasted almost 20 hours.
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.