It has been a long, long time since Canadians had to worry about high inflation

The Consumer Price Index (the major measure of inflation) rose 8.1 per cent in June compared to last year—the biggest jump in almost 40 years.

Inflation is coupled with wildfires and loss of infrastructure to create an affordability problem unlike anywhere else in Canada

There is no denying that inflation has become a major economic and political problem, reaching almost double digits in many industrialized countries. Canadians hear about it, and we certainly see it at the pumps and in the grocery stores, with many increasingly struggling to meet their weekly and monthly expenses. The fundamental question that we must ask now is what can our institutions do to bring inflation back down?

Canada is experiencing a permanent rental housing affordability crisis, which has only intensified since the COVID-19 pandemic began. At the same time, we’re seeing a greater consolidation of rental housing apartments by financial firms, accelerating the “financialization of rental housing,” a trend underway in Canada since the 1990s.

As we grapple with yet another wave of COVID, the parallel poverty crisis in Toronto has been exacerbated past its breaking point and will have enduring societal impacts.

History tells us that the Bank of Canada has a 0% success rate in fighting inflation by quickly raising interest rates. If a pilot told me that they’d only ever attempted a particular landing three times in the past 60 years with a 0% success rate, that’s not a plane I’d want to be on. Unfortunately, that looks likes the plane all Canadians are on now.

Throughout the pandemic, many small- and medium-sized businesses have weathered the storm, thanks to federal government help. In his deputation to Canada's federal Industry Committee, David Macdonald says it's time to give those businesses an "off-ramp".

This isn’t a workers’ wage-led recovery; in fact, inflation is eating into workers’ wages, diminishing their ability to recover from the pandemic recession. Corporate profits are capturing more economic growth than in any previous recession recovery period over the past 50 years.

With rising inflation, it's important to consider what governments can—and shouldn't—do about it. Listening to the austerity hawks would do more harm than good.

Twenty-six per cent of higher inflation for Canadian households is being driven by excess profits

Prepared remarks to the House of Commons finance committee's study on inflation

Tackling inflation can be part of a public-led recovery—it only requires government to reduce or maintain prices in areas they control.

Despite the likely transitory nature of this inflation, many of the poorest Canadians won’t be protected.