On the surface, Canada's 1.2% inflation is negligible, and barely enough to keep up with the pace of overall growth as mandated by a few central bank academics. It is below the surface, however, that one finds the scary truth. Because when stripping away the sliding energy prices (which at the recent pace of short covering among oil speculators are about to surge) some scary numbers emerge, such as a 3.8% monthly jump in food prices, primarily as a result of a whopping 30-40% increase in select meat prices in the last 8 months.

How do ordinary people - which excludes those who work in central banks and have taxpayers fund their everyday purchases, which allows them to fully ignore soaring food and rent costs - survive in an environment of soaring food prices?

As the following brief documentary by CBC's The National reveals, food inflation means people have no choice but to eat "far less beef" than they used to, "or chicken." Others are ok with the runaway food inflation: "it doesn't matter to me, I buy the meat at the price it is and that's fine with me" say a gentleman who likely works for a hedge fund and BTFD for a living.

It is not just meat: prices of Canadian fruits and vegetables have also surged, driven almost entirely by the plunge and the loss of purchasing power of the Canadian dollar.

And, as a vendor of meat observes: "there doesn't seem to be an end to it."

So soaring food prices, flat wages, tumbling currency, and a generally deteriorating standard of living. In short: something Japan's prime minister Abe would call a smashing success.

Full CBC documentary below: