Proof in the Pudding?

OTTAWA — It’s been less than a month since the new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) came into effect in Ontario and B.C., a tax vehemently opposed by the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, and HST detractors may already have some new ammunition for their cause.

According to a report on consumer prices from Statistics Canada, the national annual inflation rate jumped to 1.8 per cent for July. The increase comes on the back of higher energy prices and the new tax’s introduction in the two provinces, along with a two per cent hike of the same levy in Nova Scotia, also in July.

In Ontario and B.C., in particular, residents saw consumer prices spike by 2.9 per cent and 2.0 per cent respectively, after nudging up just 1.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent in the previous month.
What’s more, in B.C. restaurant prices alone increased by 7.5 per cent.
For the complete StatsCan report, click here.