Some Londoners say buying groceries is still tough, even during GST holiday

With just two weeks left in the federal government's GST holiday, some Londoners say they have continued to struggle buying groceries despite the tax break. 

"I don't remember the last time I was able to go to the grocery store and go down the aisles to pick up things that I need, let alone things that I want," said London resident, Patricia Grayston.

Grayston, who is an Ontario Disability Support Program recipient, said she often ends up shopping at dollar stores for essentials, but even that has become a challenge. 

"People can't live. It's a struggle," Grayston said. 

The federal government waived the five per cent goods and services tax on certain products in mid-Dec., until Feb. 15. Provinces, like Ontario, with a harmonized provincial and federal sales tax saw the full HST lifted also.

Still, it's not enough for some. 

"Everything is expensive these days – everything," said Issa Haddad, who spent over $100 on essential groceries, including eggs, cheese and vegetables, at Your Independent Grocer on Friday. He did not pay any tax.

Haddad said he usually spends more than that on a shopping run and budgets about $600 per month for groceries.

"We are still feeling the pinch of high grocery prices," said Michael von Massow, a food economist at the University of Guelph. 

Some reasons for high food prices, von Massow said, include a low Canadian dollar, extreme weather events due to climate change and war in Ukraine impacting the availability of some items. 

He said that while the food inflation rate has lowered in recent years, that does not mean grocery prices are getting any better: "Prices aren't going up as fast, but they're not coming down," von Massow said. 

Sue Riggin was buying groceries for her mother on Friday. She spent over $80 on three bags of groceries that included bread, cereal and soup, which she said will last about 10 days. 

"We're trying to find things on sale most of the time," said Riggin. "I go to different stores each week."

Haddad, who lives alone and uses a mobility scooter, said it is challenging for him to go to different grocery stores so only shops at one for convenience.

Tax break on select items

Qualifying items for the tax break include food, beverages, children's clothing, children's toys and books. There are, however, exceptions to each category such as food and beverages from vending machines and toys that are considered collectibles. 

"While the federal government made a really big deal about this tax holiday for some food products, most of the food products we buy are not taxed anyway," said von Massow. 

There was already no tax on items such as produce, most milk products, eggs and fresh meat. Groceries impacted by the tax break include granola bars, candy and juice. 

Grayston said she hasn't noticed a difference on her receipts since the tax break started. She said she spent close to $70 at Dollarama on Friday, and several of her items did not qualify for the tax break. 

Grayston said that beyond food, other home essentials like shampoo, garbage bags and laundry detergent are a challenge to afford.

"Who has $28 to get a thing of laundry soap?" said Grayston. "Even at the dollar store, I just noticed, their tiniest bottle of laundry soap was $5 and that's not going to do many loads."

Riggin had to pay just over a dollar of tax on her shopping bill Friday and said she would like to see the tax break continue. Haddad said the tax break has helped him feel more comfortable while shopping and would also like to see it extended. 

Little change in shopping habits

von Massow said he does not think the potential savings from the tax break has encouraged Canadians to buy more. 

"I think because people are so pinched, they're not changing their behaviour a whole bunch but they're just appreciating that maybe they can pay off their credit card bill or some other thing," von Massow said. 

"We would expect that to happen more in a time where people weren't feeling as tight on money as they are now," he said, pointing to the high prices of food, fuel and rent. 

Grocery shoppers that CBC News spoke to said they are unsure what can be done to help with grocery prices. von Massow said there isn't much to do. 

"There's not a lot the government can do, there's not a lot that grocers can do," von Massow said. "We don't have a lot of influence over the war in Ukraine, we don't have a whole lot of influence in the short term over extreme weather events."

"While it hurts when these prices go up, there's not a lot we can do about it," he said.