An internal government memo states that food inflation is rising so much, it threatens to reverse gains in the national rate of poverty.
The memo, called “School Food” from the Department of Social Development, said the average 11 percent increase in grocery food prices “could impact poverty rates in Canada” for years in the future.
According to the memo, the national poverty rate declined to as low as 6.4 percent in 2020, down from 10.3 percent in 2019, helped in part by the tax-free Canada Child Benefit and various pandemic relief programs that gave money to Canadians during COVID.
“The significant decrease in poverty between 2019 and 2020 can be mostly attributed to temporary Covid-19 emergency income supports,” it said….