Opinion
Inflation Warning: StatsCan Sounds the Alarm
Inflation climbs, energy costs explode, and the government is literally on pause
Picture this: You’re on a plane. The engines are sputtering, the fuel gauge is flashing empty, and the ground is coming up fast. You look to the cockpit for some reassurance, some sign that the people in charge know what they’re doing. But instead, the pilots are gone. They’ve unbuckled their seatbelts, abandoned the controls, and are busy arguing over which one of them gets to be in charge next—because, you know, that’s the real priority right now.
They aren’t governing. They aren’t fixing the problems. They’re trying to save their own political skins while the country burns.
This morning’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report tells us exactly what’s coming. Inflation is 1.9% year-over-year, and while that number seems stable, it’s a mirage—because once you strip away the government’s temporary tax gimmicks, what’s underneath is an economy about to collapse.
And just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, Trudeau is about to make it worse.
Let’s start with energy, because that’s where the pain begins. Gasoline prices are up 8.6%, natural gas is up 4.8%, and in Manitoba, gas prices just skyrocketed by a staggering 25.9% thanks to a reintroduced gas tax. That’s before Trump’s looming 25% tariff threat, which would send fuel costs spiraling even higher. This isn’t just bad economic policy—it’s a full-blown attack on the working class. Every trucker, every factory worker, every farmer in this country is about to get walloped by higher costs.
And what is Carney’s Liberal Party’s brilliant plan? Another carbon tax hike.
That’s right. While millions of Canadians struggle to afford gas, heating, and food, Trudeau is jacking up the carbon tax—again—on April 1st. That’s not a joke, that’s not speculation, that’s a fact. On that day, the carbon tax will increase to $80 per tonne, driving up gas prices by another 17 cents per liter. Heating your home? Get ready to pay even more. Running a small business? Good luck.
And if you think you caught a break on food prices, think again. The only reason restaurant meals were down 5.1% year-over-year was because of Trudeau’s temporary GST/HST tax cut—which expires in just a few days. Once it’s gone, the illusion of affordability disappears, and food prices will snap back up. Meanwhile, the housing market is still a disaster. Mortgage interest costs jumped 10.2%, rent is up 6.3%, property taxes are rising, and Trudeau is shoving half a million more immigrants into the housing market every year, making it even worse.
And here’s where it gets really ugly. Donald Trump—the current U.S. president—has made it very clear that he’s prepared to slap a 25% tariff on Canadian goods, with a 10% tariff on Canadian energy. What happens then?
- Canadian oil becomes more expensive to export—which means less investment, fewer jobs, and higher energy prices at home.
- Manufacturing takes a direct hit—cars, steel, lumber, and agriculture all get more expensive to sell to our biggest trading partner.
- The Canadian dollar weakens, making everything from imported food to electronics even more costly.
And what is the Trudeau government doing in response?
Nothing. No plan. No strategy. No action. Because they can’t take action. They’ve abandoned ship. They aren’t focused on inflation, trade, or economic survival. They’re focused on themselves.
Trudeau, Mark Carney, Chrystia Freeland, and Karina Gould are on a campaign tour—not for the country, but for the Liberal Party. They’ve literally shut down Parliament—paused democracy itself—so they can focus on their leadership race. Instead of standing before Canadians and explaining how they’re going to stop this economic collapse, they’re off debating amongst themselves over who gets the keys to the sinking ship.
And make no mistake—this isn’t leadership. It’s self-preservation.
Oh sure, they’ll go on CBC and CTV, they’ll look into the camera, nod solemnly, and say they’re “deeply concerned” about affordability. They’ll talk about how they “have a plan” to help Canadians. But let’s be absolutely clear: They cannot execute anything. They can’t pass legislation. They can’t provide relief. They have shut down the government.
The only thing they can do right now is talk. And if they manage to fool enough people into electing them again? Then the real pain begins. More deficits. More immigration. More taxes. The same disastrous Liberal policies that got us here in the first place—only this time, there won’t be a GST holiday to hide the damage.
It’s not just a disgrace. It’s a joke—a sick, insulting joke at the expense of every hardworking Canadian trying to keep their head above water. This country is not some Liberal playground, a sandbox for political elites to bicker over power while the economy crumbles.
And yet, they want you to believe they care about affordability.
Really? Affordability? Because here’s what’s actually happening: The temporary GST break is gone, energy prices are about to skyrocket, and come April 1st, your gas bill goes up again—all thanks to yet another carbon tax hike, courtesy of Mark Carney. That’s right. The man Liberals are grooming to be their next leader is the same unelected banker who cooked up this disaster in the first place.
And now? He gets to inherit it.
So maybe, in some twisted way, this is justice. Maybe it’s actually a blessing that Parliament is prorogued, because it means the Liberals can’t pass any more destructive policies before they’re inevitably thrown out of office. Let Carney take the blame. Let him defend his own brainchild as Canadians get walloped with higher gas prices, higher heating costs, and higher grocery bills.
This is the Liberal legacy: crippling taxes, runaway inflation, and a government too self-absorbed to care. And they have the audacity—the absolute gall—to tell you they’re the ones who will fix it?
Enough. No more distractions. No more backroom power grabs.
Call the election. Face the people. Let Canada decide its future.
Invite your friends and earn rewards
MxM News
Quick Hit:
Seventy Christians were brutally murdered by jihadists affiliated with ISIS in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The victims were forced into a Protestant church and beheaded, marking one of the deadliest attacks on Christians in the region.
Key Details:
- The attack occurred on February 13 in the town of Kasanga, where members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), linked to ISIS, rounded up villagers and executed them inside a Protestant church.
- Open Doors UK, a human rights organization, reported that the ADF targeted 70 Christian villages, leaving families too terrified to bury their dead for a week.
- The international community has largely ignored the atrocity, with few public statements condemning the violence, except from Hungary’s State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians, Tristan Azbej.
Diving Deeper:
Open Doors UK revealed that the massacre took place when the ADF militants surrounded the village of Maybe, forcibly removing residents from their homes. The 70 Christian villagers were herded into an abandoned Protestant church in Kasanga and systematically executed by beheading. The church had been previously deserted due to escalating security threats in the area.
The ADF, an Islamist militant group linked to ISIS, has been responsible for numerous violent attacks across northeastern DRC. Their objective is to overthrow the governments of the DRC and Uganda to establish a caliphate, similar to the one ISIS formed in Syria and Iraq. The group has intensified its activities in the mineral-rich North Kivu province, killing at least 200 people in the past month alone.
The aftermath of the attack has left surviving Christians in fear, prompting many to flee the region. A church elder from CECA-20, the Evangelical Community in Central Africa, expressed despair, stating, “We don’t know what to do or how to pray. We’ve had enough of massacres. May God’s will alone be done.”
Open Doors UK strongly condemned the attack, urging governments and international organizations to prioritize civilian protection in eastern DRC. Despite the magnitude of the atrocity, international media coverage has been minimal. Social media users have criticized the lack of global attention to the incident.
Hungary’s State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians, Tristan Azbej, was one of the few international figures to respond publicly. He expressed horror at the killings, calling the victims “Christian martyrs” and emphasizing the need for global recognition and action against Christian persecution.
The violence underscores the ongoing security crisis in the DRC, where numerous militant groups, including the ADF, continue to vie for control over the region’s valuable mineral resources. As the humanitarian situation worsens, the international community faces growing pressure to respond to the escalating persecution of Christians in the region.
A B.C. pharmacy scam investigation has led the provincial government to return to a witnessed consumption model for safer supply
More than 60 pharmacies across B.C. are alleged to have participated in a kickback scheme linked to safer supply drugs, according to a provincial report released Feb. 19.
On Feb. 5, the BC Conservatives leaked a report that showed the findings of an internal investigation by the B.C. Ministry of Health. That investigation showed dozens of pharmacies were filling prescriptions patients did not require in order to overbill the government. These safer supply drugs were then diverted onto the black market.
After the report was leaked, the province committed to ending take-home safer supply models, which allow users to take hydromorphone pills home in bottles. Instead, it will require drug users to consume prescribed opioids in a witnessed program, under the oversight of a medical professional.
Gregory Sword, whose 14-year-old daughter Kamilah died in August 2022 after taking a hydromorphone pill that had been diverted from B.C.’s safer supply program, expressed outrage over the report’s findings.
“This is so frustrating to hear that [pharmacies] were making money off this program and causing more drugs [to flood] the street,” Sword told Canadian Affairs on Feb. 20.
The investigation found that pharmacies exploited B.C.’s Frequency of Dispensing policy to maximize billings. To take advantage of dispensing fees, pharmacies incentivized clients to fill prescriptions they did not require by offering them cash or rewards. Some of those clients then sold the drugs on the black market. Pharmacies earned up to $11,000 per patient a year.
“I’m positive that [the B.C. government has] known this for a long time and only made this decision when the public became aware and the scrutiny was high,” said Elenore Sturko, Conservative MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale, who released the leaked report in a statement on Feb. 5.
“As much as I am really disappointed in how long it’s taken for this decision to be made, I am also happy that this has happened,” she said.
The health ministry said it is investigating the implicated pharmacies. Those that are confirmed to have been involved could have their licenses suspended, be referred to law enforcement or become ineligible to participate in PharmaCare, the provincial program that helps residents cover the costs of prescription drugs.
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Witnessed dosing
The leaked report says that “a significant portion of the opioids being freely prescribed by doctors and pharmacists are not being consumed by their intended recipients.” It also says “prescribed alternatives are trafficked provincially, nationally and internationally.”
Critics of the safer supply program say it enables addiction, while supporters say it reduces overdoses.
Sword, Kamilah’s father, is suing the provincial and federal governments, arguing B.C.’s safer supply program made it possible for youth such as his daughter to access drugs.
Madison, Kamilah’s best friend, also became addicted to opioids dispensed through safer supply programs. Madison was just 15 when she first encountered “dillies” — hydromorphone pills dispensed through safer supply, but widely available on the streets. She developed a tolerance that led her to fentanyl.
“I do know for sure that some pharmacies and doctors were aware of the diversion,” Madison’s mother Beth told Canadian Affairs on Feb. 20.
“When I first realized what my daughter was taking and how she was getting it, I phoned the pharmacy and the doctor on the label of the pill bottle to inform them that the patient was selling their hydromorphone,” Beth said.
Masha Krupp, an Ottawa mother who has a son enrolled in a safer supply program, has said the safer supply program in her city is similarly flawed. Canadian Affairs previously reported on this program, which is run by Recovery Care’s Ottawa-based harm reduction clinics.
“I read about the B.C. pharmacy scheme and wasn’t surprised,” Krupp told Canadian Affairs on Feb. 20. Krupp lost a daughter to methadone toxicity while she was in an addiction treatment program at Recovery Care.
“Three years [after starting safer supply], my son is still using fentanyl, crack cocaine and methadone, despite being with Dr. [Charles] Breau and with Recovery Care for over three years,” Krupp testified before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health on Oct. 22, 2024.
Krupp has been vocal about the dangers of dispensing large quantities of opioids without proper oversight, arguing many patients sell their prescriptions to buy stronger street drugs.
“You can’t give addicts 28 pills and say, ‘Oh here you go,’” she said in her testimony. “They sell for three dollars a pop on the street.”
Krupp has also advocated for witnessed consumption of safer supply medications, arguing supervised dosing would prevent diversion and ensure proper oversight of pharmacies.
“I had talked about witnessed dosing for safe supply when I appeared before the parliamentary health committee last October,” she told Canadian Affairs this week.
“I’m grateful that finally … this decision has been made to return to a witness program,” said Sturko, the B.C. MLA.
In 2020, B.C. implemented a witnessed consumption model to ensure safer supply opioids were consumed as prescribed and to reduce diversion. In 2021, the province switched to take-home models. Its stated aim was to expand access, save lives and ease pressure on health-care facilities during the pandemic.
“You’re really fighting against a group of people … working within the bureaucracy of [the B.C. NDP] government … who have been making efforts to work towards the legalization of drugs and, in doing that, have looked only for opportunities to bolster their arguments for their position, instead of examining their approach in a balanced way,” said Sturko.
“These are foreseeable outcomes when you do not put proper safeguards in place and when you completely ignore all indications of negative impacts.”
Sword also believes some drug policies fail to prioritize the safety of vulnerable individuals.
“Greed is the ultimate evil in society and this just proves it,” he said. “We don’t care about these drugs getting into the wrong hands as long as I get my money.”
This article was produced through the Breaking Needles Fellowship Program, which provided a grant to Canadian Affairs, a digital media outlet, to fund journalism exploring addiction and crime in Canada. Articles produced through the Fellowship are co-published by Break The Needle and Canadian Affairs.
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