'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
With inflation at a nearly 40-year high, Canadians are feeling the financial strain. In a six-part series this summer, The Canadian Press is speaking to people at different stages of life to see where they’re being hit the hardest. This story details the experiences of mid-career adults and their families.
———
Myron Genyk didn't think much about the price of food a year ago.
But now the 43-year-old father of three is suffering from sticker shock as his family's grocery bill balloons.
"No. 1 is the increase in food," said Genyk, an entrepreneur from Mississauga, Ont. "My kids are growing, so they're eating more, but food prices have also shot up."
With inflation rising at its fastest pace in nearly 40 years, the cost of everything from food to gas has skyrocketed.
Canadians across the country are feeling squeezed, but big families with multiple children are at times shouldering much of the higher costs — and changing demographics and consumer patterns have left some of them more exposed to inflation than in previous generations.
Some face meteoric grocery bills to feed insatiable teens or are helping older kids pay for university or buy their first home.
Others face mounting costs related to helping aging parents.
Then there are those doing both — the so-called sandwich generation.
"Some still have kids at home and they're also helping out with aging parents," said Elena Jara, community engagement partner with insolvency firm Bromwich and Smith.
"Inflation only makes that harder."
Middle-aged adults have traditionally had the benefit of entering their prime earning years, taking some of the sting out of inflation. But as milestones for many Canadians happen later in life, this pattern is changing.
First-time homebuyers are getting older, for example, with the average age now around 36.
That means mid-career Canadians are more likely to have a big mortgage, leaving them vulnerable to higher interest rates.
Canadians are also having children later in life. Over the past five decades, the average age of a first-time mother has been steadily rising, from 22.6 in 1969 to 29.4 in 2019.
Adult children are also living longer at home. New census data found almost half of young adults in Ontario cities like Toronto, Oshawa, Windsor and Hamilton were living in the same household as at least one parent.
That leaves parents in the roughly 40 to 60 age range potentially covering more day-to-day costs or unable to downsize.
"Having a larger household with many mouths to feed would definitely increase your spending on food and make you more sensitive to food inflation," said Rebekah Young, vice-president, head of inclusion and resilience economics at Scotiabank.
Higher costs could also push Canadians in their prime earning years to curtail savings, potentially later delaying retirement to pay the bills, she said.
But inflation is even worse for low income Canadians as they spend more of their disposable income on essentials, Young said.
The situation has left Canadians feeling increasingly gloomy about their finances, according to a raft of recent surveys.
More than half of Canadians aged 55 and up said they've delayed retirement because of mounting inflation this year alone, based on respondents to a recent poll by Bromwich and Smith and Advisorsavvy.
Another survey by TransUnion Canada found 60 per cent of Canadians polled lack optimism about their household finances over the next 12 months, with almost a third concerned they won’t be able to pay their bills in full in the coming months.
According to a recent study, 46 per cent of Gen Zs and 47 per cent of millennials are living paycheque to paycheque. Personal finance company AimFinance created a nine-step guide for Canadians to help them get out of debt, including building a budget, reducing credit card payments, and prioritizing debt payments.
For Genyk, who runs his own Bay Street asset management company, he's hopeful high inflation will be a "temporary blip" on his financial path.
Still, he's feeling squeezed by higher prices.
"I'm definitely spending more money this year than I was last year on basic goods," said Genyk, CEO and co-founder of Evermore Capital Inc., a Canadian asset management company that focuses on accessible retirement investing.
"That is directly impacting how much I can save for retirement."
Inflation is also shaping his consumption habits and even changing his vacation plans.
For example, the Genyk family is planning a trip to the Rockies with their three children, ages seven, 11 and 13.
A few years ago, the family flew into Calgary and rented a van for two weeks for $1,900.
This summer, the van rental quote was $8,000.
"We got creative and found if we flew to Edmonton, we could rent a five-seater SUV there for a much more reasonable price," he said.
"Having a growing family, you also need more space. When you get a hotel room, the days of one room with a pop-up crib are done.
"All these things add up."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2022.
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Moose Jaw police say an 18-year-old woman who was at work has died from injuries she sustained in a collision with a vehicle being driven by her co-worker last Thursday.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Members of Parliament will vote Monday on a motion from the federal New Democrats, calling on Canada to recognize the 'State of Palestine,' among a range of other calls to action in regards to the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.