This is not new. Publishers can argue that at least some percentage of the people who read a journal in a library would subscribe to it themselves if they couldn't find it in their library, so they're losing individual subscriptions by selling to libraries. This isn't the problem, though it is something of which few people are aware. The problem is that not only have many library budgets declined, but the prices of scientific serials have skyrocketed in recent years. There are many reasons for this.
Inflation does affect the prices of journals.
The exchange rate for the Canadian dollar has been poor compared to the U.S. dollar and some other currencies, and as most subscriptions come from outside Canada, this affects the pricing. This doesn't apply to materials purchased with individual department funds, but it does protect the majority of subscriptions. Some institutions have not been so fortunate. Access is replacing ownership in some cases. This is an issue which has been causing great controversy in the academic and library communities, and it has led to accusations of price gouging.