Charlebois: Ott­awa cut the diesel tax, but your gro­cery bill will still go up

Charlebois: Ott­awa cut the diesel tax, but your gro­cery bill will still go up

Food does not move by magic. In Canada, it moves largely by diesel. Diesel powers tract­ors and com­bines. It car­ries ingredi­ents to pro­cessors, dis­tri­bu­tion centres and refri­ger­ated loads to res­taur­ants and gro­cers. It sup­ports fish­ing, stor­age and last-mile deliv­ery. When diesel rises sharply, the food sys­tem is not hit once. The shock travels through the chain sev­eral times before reach­ing con­sumers.