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Juno News

OP-ED: Taxing food is like slapping a surcharge on hunger. It needs to end.

While so-called “basic groceries” are zero-rated, a vast range of everyday food products are taxed—and Canadians now pay over a billion dollars a year in GST/HST on food purchased in grocery stores.

Dec 11, 2025
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Source: Wikimedia Commons

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By Sylvain Charlebois

About a year ago, Canada experimented with something rare in federal policymaking: a temporary GST Holiday on prepared foods. It was short-lived and poorly communicated, yet Canadians noticed it immediately. One of the most unavoidable expenses in daily life—food—became marginally less costly. Families felt…

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