Regina Food Bank calls proposed GST pause ‘positive’ but urges caution

The Regina Food Bank is cautiously optimistic about the federal government’s announcement that it will suspend the GST for two months.

The pause will essentially make all food products in Canada tax-exempt from December 14 to February 15.

Food bank CEO John Bailey said the proposed policy was a step in the right direction but would not reduce the number of people facing food insecurity.

“That in itself is a positive thing, but by no means is it some kind of magic bullet that will somehow mean that fewer people will come to the food bank,” he told 980 CJME on Thursday.

Bailey said the food bank is still trying to figure out how the announcement will impact its ability to buy food.

“(What) we’re still trying to determine is what this will mean at the wholesale level – if it’s going to have a really meaningful impact, especially given the fact that what we’re sourcing isn’t necessarily suitable for some of those broad categories as announced.”

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Bailey said the food bank doesn’t expect any negative impacts.

“We think this may encourage people to give more… because they will be able to see that they have GST equivalent left,” he said.

Bailey said the holiday season brings with it both holiday gatherings and increased economic pressure on people.

“We tend to see a slight increase in the number of people coming to the Food Bank at this time of year,” he said. “In recent years, that increase has perhaps been a little less pronounced, just because our numbers are so high year-round.”

Bailey said the Regina Food Bank has signed up about 204,000 service points and is approaching 222,030.

The food bank’s new food center serves an average of 220 to 240 people a day and is trying to increase that number more and more, Bailey said.

Bailey urged people to consider donating to the food bank online or in person amid the ongoing Canada Post strike.

Business welcomes tax benefits

On Thursday’s Evan Bray Show, Sean Maughan of 9 Mile Legacy Brewing in Saskatoon praised the federally announced measure.

“I never want to look a gift horse in the mouth,” Maughan said. “Tax breaks are good. It will be administrative, a little difficult to implement for a small business. It’s not impossible, but we have systems in place to collect GST.”

Listen to Sean Maughan on The Evan Bray Show:

Maughan said he was even more encouraged by the GST exemption on items such as children’s toys and nappies.

“I think it (the GST pause) is a smart policy move from that perspective for the hospitality sector, which is currently in decline as people save money,” he said.

“It would be great if the province followed suit in this regard.”

Maughan said the introduction of PST on restaurants in 2017 was detrimental to the hospitality industry.