Edmonton charities face uncertainty as U.S.-Canada trade war continues

As the U.S.-Canada trade war continues some Edmonton charities are also feeling the effect, saying the funding for their operations will more likely be more expensive and harder for them to help those who are vulnerable.

Which is the case for Edmonton’s Food Bank, this year, they budgeted an estimated four million dollars for just food purchases and worry it could increase including some of their trucks that could go up by $50,000 dollars from $300,000.

“The number of eggs we’re purchasing every week, we’ve gone from three pallets to four pallets, which makes a difference of $3,000 per week. We’re faced with an increasing number of people needing our services,” said Marjorie Bencz, the executive director of the Edmonton Food Bank.

The construction cost of the future Hope Mission Project could be affected as well, … with an estimated 9,000 people recorded using the services and experiencing a high occupancy rate in the shelter. Tim Pasma, the program’s director, says operation and construction costs have already seen an increase.

“A lot of those costs have gone up and we’re concerned that’s going to continue or accelerate. And we’re also concerned that at the same time, there could be an increase in the number of people seeking services,” said Pasma.

Steels and aluminum from the States could also get expensive, making it harder for the habitat for humanity to reach its yearly goal of 10 houses.

“It will be an actual decrease in the number of homes and it just comes down to having the ability to be able to afford to find and finish building the homes, we have to have the monies upfront in order to start the construction process,” said Ann-Marie Reddy, the president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity.

But all three charities agree on one thing, the trade war between U.S. and Canada needs to end.

“And it ends consistently that this is something that gets resolved and that we can move forward,” explained Pasma.

Bencz adding, “Wishing that we’d see less people in need in our community.”

While Reddy says, “Charities are and can be dramatically affected, so we hope this is a short stint.”