From: brewnoser2@gmail.com   
      
   When it's our food prices that are driving the climb in inflation, it's time   
   we started thinking about getting much, much more self-sufficient when it   
   comes to cultivating food in Canada.     
      
   One would have thought that lower fuel prices - and the cost of importing from   
   California - would have lowered food prices.  But instead, the higher cost of   
   food for California due to their prolonged 4-year drought, followed by   
   disastrous forest fires    
   and then floods, have made a huge impact.   
      
   Add to that our low dollar power to buy those already-pricey foods and we now   
   are feeling what 'global warming' can do to our lives in this country.     
      
   Time to start saving our most arable land for food crops - not flooding it for   
   dams or housing sprawl.  We're going back to basics to survive - and it means   
   getting serious about it *fast*.  No annual salary increases are going to keep   
   pace with what's    
   happening.   
   _______________________________________________   
   -- The Canadian Press -- Feb 19 2016   
      
      
   Continued climb of fresh fruit, vegetable prices push Canadian inflation to 2%   
      
      
   OTTAWA -- The consequences of the steady fall in the Canadian dollar are   
   starting to push up inflation, with rising prices for imported goods like   
   fresh fruits and vegetables leading the way.   
      
   Statistics Canada said Friday that the country's annual inflation rate reached   
   two per cent last month, its highest mark since November 2014.   
      
   The January year over year inflation number was up from 1.6 per cent in   
   December.   
      
   The agency's latest consumer price index found that inflation climbed in every   
   province last month at a time when the weaker exchange rate was contributing   
   to higher costs for imported goods.   
      
   The effects of the steep decline in oil prices have played a big part in   
   pushing down the loonie.   
      
   Last month, the overall cost of food was up four per cent compared with a year   
   earlier, with fresh vegetable prices up 18.2 per cent and fruits up 12.9 per   
   cent.   
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   A closer look at the data shows that lettuce prices last month were 17.9 per   
   cent higher than the year before, apples were up 16.6 per cent and tomatoes up   
   11.9 per cent.   
      
   "Very strong indeed -- much stronger report than what we expected," Desjardins   
   senior economist Jimmy Jean said of the headline inflation number.   
      
   "(The increase) is largely in the usual suspects these days -- fruits and   
   vegetables."   
      
   Year-over-year prices moved upwards in every category of the index except for   
   clothing and footwear, which saw a decrease of 0.3 per cent compared with   
   January 2015.   
      
   Lower prices in January for natural gas, fuel oil and telephone services kept   
   downward pressure on the inflation reading.  Natural gas was down 18.6 per   
   cent, fuel oil down 15 per cent and telephone services 2.5 per cent, the   
   agency said   
      
   The overall January inflation rate also hit the Bank of Canada's ideal target   
   of two per cent.   
      
   The central bank watches the inflation rate very closely whenever it makes   
   decisions on whether to move its benchmark interest rate. Its next policy   
   meeting is scheduled for early next month.   
      
   Jean said he wouldn't be surprised if inflation moved above two per cent and,   
   if it does, it likely wouldn't be a major preoccupation for the central bank   
   since it maintains a target range of one to three per cent, he added.   
      
   Statistics Canada's core inflation rate, which excludes some volatile items   
   such as gasoline, was 1.9 per cent in December.   
      
   The agency also released its most recent retail sales data, which showed a   
   drop of 2.2 per cent to $43.2 billion in December compared with November, when   
   sales rose 1.7 per cent. Retail sales improved 0.1 per cent month over month   
   in October.   
      
   The last time retail sales saw a month-over-month drop of that magnitude was   
   April 2010, when they fell 2.3 per cent, the agency said.   
      
   Experts said the decrease was largely due to unseasonably warm weather and   
   lighter than usual snowfalls in December as well as the impact of Black   
   Friday, pre-holiday sales events that led to stronger numbers in November.   
      
   "In the past couple of years we've kind of seen a pattern whereby (holiday)   
   sales tend to be brought forward to November," Jean said.   
      
   Retail sales fell in almost every sub sector, with motor vehicle and parts   
   dealers seeing the biggest decrease in dollar terms, the report said.  They   
   also went down in every province except for Prince Edward Island, where they   
   ticked up 0.1 per cent.   
      
   Brian DePratto of TD Economics said the retail trade report underscored the   
   "softness" in the economy over the final three months of 2015.   
      
   "Even when taken alongside more positive December manufacturing and wholesale   
   reports, we nevertheless expect that the Canadian economy effectively stood   
   still or contracted slightly in the fourth quarter," DePratto wrote in a   
   research note to clients.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)