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.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

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…