The issue of affordability is top of minds for Canadians but it seems governments are having trouble getting their heads around it.
Mark Carney’s announcement of an enhanced GST rebate to offset rising grocery prices is just the latest example of a level of government trying to meet public expectations about affordability, the squeeze of higher prices that are not matched by higher incomes.
Carney’s move will offer some temporary relief but it is not adequate to change anyone’s life or solve structural problems.
In contrast, our local governments embrace double digit tax increases – increasing their own revenue streams because they can and it saves them making the hard decisions to downsize – while asking their citizens to do just that… trim their own personal expectations and living standards.
But local politicians take the prize for going a step further by asking for even broader taxing powers because double digit hikes aren’t enough even though they already enjoy the benefit of a growing municipal surcharge on rising energy costs and a guaranteed provincial revenue sharing income stream.
