Quebec parents hit with back-to-school sticker shock

Quebec students will be heading back to school in a few weeks, and some parents say they are already feeling the pinch of higher prices on supplies.

Virginia MacGregor, a single mother of two kids aged six and seven, says she's already spent over $200.

"And that doesn't even include school uniforms, which will probably cost another two or three hundred dollars," she said.

Parents should expect to pay up to 20 per cent more on back-to-school shopping this year, says Jimmy Zoubris, owner of the stationary store Papeterie & Photocopie Zoubris.

Prices are up on pretty much everything, "especially paper products, books…it may be pennies, but they add up quite quickly," he said.

Zoubris recommends looking for deals on quality products that will last the whole year instead of replacing cheaper items.

At Welcome Hall Mission, preparations are underway for the annual backpack giveaway for low-income families who use the charity's food bank.

"We think that it's really important that students who go back to school do so well equipped, equivalently to other students, so that they can have academic success," said Welcome Hall Mission CEO Sam Watts, adding that parents shouldn't have to worry about finding room in their budget for school supplies.

"I find it very surprising that in 2023, in the province of Quebec, that parents should have to subsidize the supplies for their kids' education. It seems strange that we as a mission should have to step in to help the less fortunate," said Watts.