Grocery shoplifting mounting across Canada amid inflation, labour shortages: experts – National | Globalnews.ca:

Shoplifting has surged to an alarming level across Canada, industry
insiders say, with inflation and labour shortages cited as major factors
behind the increase.

The uptick has triggered concern among Canadian grocers even as the rise in food prices helps pad their bottom lines. Grocery prices
were up 11 per cent year-over-year in October and they’re not expected
to ease any time soon. The total cost of groceries for a family of four
is expected to be $1,065 more than it was this year, according to the
most recent edition of Canada’s Food Price Report.

Inflation in
food prices is one of the main drivers pushing more people to steal,
says Sylvain Charlebois, senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab
at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

“There is a correlation between the two, absolutely. Theft is an
ongoing issue. But the intensity actually does increase when food prices
go up,” he said, noting that meat and dairy products are the top two
stolen items.

He warned the problem may grow if the economy slows down next year as some economists suggest.

“If you see both food prices go up and … the economy slows down, jointly that is when you basically see even more stuff.”