North Bay organizations have mixed feelings on new federal grocery rebate
North Bay organizations have mixed feelings on new federal grocery rebate
Local groups and organizations in North Bay that work with low-income Canadians told CTV News they have mixed opinions on the grocery rebate set to come out of the 2023 federal budget.
The shelves at the Callander and District Food Bank always need re-stocking. The food bank knows all too well of the impacts inflation and rising food costs have on those that need its services.
"Our people are beginning to feel it and we're also growing in clientele daily. So we need more food," said food bank coordinator Maureen Carriere.
CTV News has confirmed the government is going to provide some financial assistance to lower income Canadians struggling with the rising cost of food.
The new measure is called the grocery rebate and will be included in Tuesday’s budget. Sources said the measure will help nearly 11 million low-income Canadians.
The new benefit will be part of a GST credit once the budget is passed in the House of Commons.
Here is how it would work: a couple with two children could get a one-time payment of up to $467, seniors would get a one-time payment of $225, while a single person would get a payment of $234.
The benefit will be rolled out through the GST rebate system, once a bill implementing it passes in the House of Commons, according to sources.
This move is essentially re-upping and re-branding the recent GST rebate boost.
The amounts expected to be offered are exactly what the Liberals offered through last fall's doubling of the GST credit, a boost that was estimated to cost $2.5 billion and got all-parties' backing.
It's not expected that there will be a requirement to spend the rebate on groceries.
Currently serving roughly 100 families and 53 children, the Callander food bank wonders if it will help at all.
"It is better than nothing. We sort of think that it's not really a help to them. Maybe it will for one week," Carriere said.
"Next week, the price of gasoline is going up, which means food prices are going up."
North Bay's Golden Age Club said seniors are feeling their wallets get thinner every time they have to go to the grocery store and they welcome this rebate with open arms.
"We can do more for seniors," said the club’s vice-president Kathy Forth.
"Any of us, no matter what our situation is, would like a break. Anything that can be given to us, I think is there to help us all out."
Low Income People Involvement of Nipissing (L.I.P.I) is happy the government plans to establish this one-time payment.
"I'm glad they're paying attention and glad they're putting some effort into this," said LIPI’s executive director Lana Mitchell.
"I'm glad they're using a process that we can understand for people already on GST entitlement. I'd like to see a little bit more in-depth analysis on what we can do so people can afford their own groceries."
According to Statistics Canada's latest inflation report, food prices rose 11.4 per cent year-over-year in January, nearly double the rate of inflation of 5.9 per cent and up from 11 per cent the previous month.
Donald Trump said Thursday that he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former U.S. president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear the appeal of an Alberta woman who was unwilling to be vaccinated in order to get a life-saving organ transplant.
What happens to the brain when you take gravity away? According to a new study looking at astronauts both before and after space travel, that experience causes physical changes that researchers believe requires at least three years between longer missions to recover from.
As wildfires rage across Canada in what’s being called an unprecedented season, one expert says there’s more that individuals and communities can do to adapt and prevent forest fires from causing widespread devastation.
Rescuers in Washington state are praising the resourcefulness of a 10-year-old girl who survived on her own for more than 24 hours in the rugged terrain of the Cascade mountains after getting lost while out with her family.
Air pollution from wildfires remained well above healthy levels across much of southern and northern Ontario and several communities in British Columbia and Alberta on Thursday.
The grief-stricken parents of a young teen killed in his driveway in Barrie in 2021 delivered haunting victim impact statements in court Thursday, recalling the day their "world was destroyed."
A long stretch without rain combined with high temperatures and dry ground conditions has many municipalities across Simcoe County with an extreme fire danger rating and burn ban.
The shifting winds late Thursday morning are predicted to push high levels of air pollution over the City of Barrie and surrounding areas from smoke emanating from wildfires in Quebec and northeastern Ontario.
Video has surfaced showing a Mississauga, Ont. transit bus plowing into stopped traffic in a crash that left one person dead and at least eight injured on Thursday morning.
As interest rates continue to rise, the cost of buying a house in Ottawa and across Canada is becoming more expensive. Many homeowners are now forced to extend their mortgage payments.
An 18-year-old woman riding a bike was taken to an out-of-region hospital with what police call “possible serious injuries” after a crash involving a sedan in Kitchener.
Waterloo region and Wellington County remain under a special air quality statement for the fourth straight day Thursday with pollution levels expected to worsen into the evening before potential rainfall and shifting winds could bring some reprieve.
Donald Trump said Thursday that he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former U.S. president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
The debate over firework displays is returning to city hall with two options for updating the fireworks by-law. A staff report recommends holding a public participation meeting later this summer to receive feedback on tightening backyard firework rules — or instituting an outright ban.
Donald Trump said Thursday that he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former U.S. president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
Quebec's precarious wildfire situation is expected to remain stable over the next 48 hours but residents displaced by the raging forest fires likely won't be able to return home until early next week, Premier Francois Legault said Thursday.
An Ontario man charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in the death of Claudia Iacono, the daughter-in-law of the late Montreal Mafia associate Moreno Gallo, was arrested the day after the killing in Ontario on unrelated drug charges, public records show.
New Brunswick students under the age of 16 who identify as trans and non-binary won't be able to officially change their names or pronouns in school without parental consent.
The Halifax Regional Municipality says it will announce Thursday when more residents can return to their homes in communities impacted by the Tantallon wildfires.
Donald Trump said Thursday that he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former U.S. president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear the appeal of an Alberta woman who was unwilling to be vaccinated in order to get a life-saving organ transplant.
Donald Trump said Thursday that he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former U.S. president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
Premier Danielle Smith says the government is bringing in arson investigators from outside the province to trace the cause of some wildfires during an unprecedented season in Alberta.
Tumbler Ridge, a community with a population of 2,400 in northeastern B.C., has been ordered to evacuate Thursday due to the danger posed by an encroaching wildfire.
More than 70 guests have RSVP'd for a Squamish couple's beach wedding in Tofino, but the wildfire-related closure of Highway 4 has upended their plans.
