Alberta posted a 3.8 per cent change in the annual rate of inflation, ahead of the national average of three per cent. Addressing the national average, Concordia University economics professor Moshe Lander says the Bank of Canada is keeping inflation on target. “The target is between one and three per cent. That means that any number between one and three per cent is equally good,” Lander said. “Canadians that are concerned about cost of living and affordability issues, I hate to say it, but it’s not the fault of inflation.” According to Statistics Canada, Albertans’ shelter costs are higher. People in the province are also paying more when eating out and for services like haircuts and mechanical work. People in the province are also impacted by higher energy costs, which include gasoline, which is continuing to rise but at a slower pace. Nationally prices are up 22.8 per cent compared with 25.7 a month earlier, as the conflict in the Middle East continued to affect prices, the agency said. According to Canadians for Affordable Energy, diesel prices continue to rise, which Lander says is pushing its way into the broader economy. “Transportation is such an important industry within Canada, at some point, it’s not just the transportation industry in isolation that feels the effects,” said Lander. “It starts to spill over into things like food, where it starts to spill over into, heating our homes.”
