'Flabbergasted' by gas prices, people struggle as N.L. inflation surges

Everywhere you go around the province it seems people are talking about cutting back just to get by, and Statistics Canada is now backing that upNewfoundland and Labrador's inflation rate is now the highestin Canada.

"It's pretty scary," said Megan Marshall, who works at the Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labradorin St. John's.

"We're a pretty average family. I work for a non-profit. Myhusband's a musician and he's in the service industry. We have a young daughter in school. And we're really just getting by literally, it's fairly month-to-month for us and I think that is the way it is for most people."

• Doubled gas tax drives N.L.'s inflation rate high above Canadian average

Statistics Canada said the new taxes on insurance and gasoline have helped push the province's inflation rate up.

You get paid, and it is all gone. There is no wiggle room for anything, really.- Megan Marshall

Marshall told CBC News Tuesday her family is feeling the financial effects of the doubled gas tax and the new 15 per cent tax on car and home insurance.

She said her family now pays $80 a month to fill their carto get around town, compared to $40 last year.

• Oil up 14% in 3 days, Canadian dollar continues climb

"We are flabbergasted every time we drive by the gas station," she said. "Butthere's only so many hours a day that we can all workand we have kids to pay for. I don't know how much more I can do."

'No wiggle room'

When insurance on their car went from $150 a month to $250, she said she spent a day finding a cheaper option.

"You get paid, and it is all gone. There is no wiggle room for anything, really," she said.

Marshall said she knows they are better off than some, and hopes other people can manage likethey are by budgeting carefullyand cutting out theextras they once enjoyed, like trips and other luxuries.

"Hopefully, we can just get through it and see some changes," she said.

"People in my generation, we work hardand we're trying to do the right things for our families and for our kids and stuff, and it's just a constant struggle."

'Can't even afford a full tank of gas'

At a gas station in St. John's Tuesday afternoon, several drivers were filling their tanks withjust enough gas to keep them going.

Mitchell Fennell said the extra tax on gas is "unreal." He spends about $140 to fill up his truck, but not Tuesday.

"I can't even afford a full tank of gas," he said, adding people like him are just buying "whatever we can afford week-to-week."

Fennell said he is financially strained following last spring's provincial budget as well, and has made cutbacks.

"Yup, definitely. Like luxuries. I used to have a quad, Ski-Doo, and stuff like that. No more," he said.

"The Ski-Doois really hard on gas. Quad not so bad, but I can barely afford to put gas in the truck let alone recreational vehicles."