Canada’s grocery business is controlled by large players and needs government assistance to encourage new entrants to bring down prices, a report from Canada’s Competition Bureau says.
No crap! Duhhh. Finally competition bureau is doing some of their home work. And new entrant encouragement isn’t the only action that’s available. And that’s not the only sector that’s been consolidated either. Someone needs to kick the behind of these bureaucrats.
The Weston’s own most of the pharmacy, the grocery, food supply chain, and are moving into healthcare at breakneck pace. No shit it’s too concentrated. We need actual antitrust laws.
Don’t see how this will work? Walmart entered Canada many years ago and does groceries yet pricing all settled out. If Walmart isn’t driving competition and pricing down what will?
There aren’t that many Wallmarts relative to grocery stores and they also aren’t usually in the same areas that people do grocery shopping, so I don’t think they are a significant competition.
I’ve seen a couple of (very limited) examples of restaurants using their contracts with suppliers to open small local grocery stores near their restaurants, that undercut the big grocery chains. If anything was possible, I’d prefer more local neighbourhood stores for packaged foods and community garden co-ops combined with farmer’s markets for fresh foods.
Much cheaper to break up the monopolies and change the system to prevent them forming in the first place. Subsidizing new entrants without changing the environment that creates monopolies will just feed the beasts with fresh meat.
Basically what happened in the mobile space. I’m 2008 CRTC had an AWS spectrum auction for new entrants in the wireless industry, namely Mobilicity, Public Mobile, and WIND Mobile. Public was bought out by Telus. Mobilicity was bought by Rogers and merged with Chatr. WIND hung out longer and became Freedom under Shaw, but of course Shawgers happened, so we’re back to square one.
So many small store are close becuase don’t want to take the covid fund because language barrer, store rent are go to sky because the building owner think the store can earn 70% like 17 years ago. The item get from the distubutor is already x3 the price sold on big store and the customer complain is too expensive, look at those big store, they are only $ and you sell $$.
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“Yeah, no shit” every Canadian says.
No crap! Duhhh. Finally competition bureau is doing some of their home work. And new entrant encouragement isn’t the only action that’s available. And that’s not the only sector that’s been consolidated either. Someone needs to kick the behind of these bureaucrats.
Are there any trackers on what they or the CRTC have done? It’d be nice to hold them accountable for not just saying things but actually doing things.
I tried to see if Open Media has something, but looks like it’s just the campaigns: https://openmedia.org/campaigns
There was a campaign a year ago about telecom monopoly practices, but it’s now closed: https://openmedia.org/press/item/over-28000-petition-signers-call-for-end-to-canadas-telecom-monopoly
The Weston’s own most of the pharmacy, the grocery, food supply chain, and are moving into healthcare at breakneck pace. No shit it’s too concentrated. We need actual antitrust laws.
They also own real estate under Choice Properties.
Sadly it doesn’t matter if we have antitrust laws or not when no one is willing to enforce them.
It does matter, we just need to put more public pressure on them.
There was so much pressure on the Shawgers buyout, the Competition Bureau was overwhelmed. Yet, here we are.
I hope “public pressure” is euphemistic for things a little more, erm, firm than “write angry articles on cbc”
Don’t see how this will work? Walmart entered Canada many years ago and does groceries yet pricing all settled out. If Walmart isn’t driving competition and pricing down what will?
I dont know, more competitors would still be better.
Ive see my low no frills lower prices to match Walmart sales.
There aren’t that many Wallmarts relative to grocery stores and they also aren’t usually in the same areas that people do grocery shopping, so I don’t think they are a significant competition.
I’ve seen a couple of (very limited) examples of restaurants using their contracts with suppliers to open small local grocery stores near their restaurants, that undercut the big grocery chains. If anything was possible, I’d prefer more local neighbourhood stores for packaged foods and community garden co-ops combined with farmer’s markets for fresh foods.
Much cheaper to break up the monopolies and change the system to prevent them forming in the first place. Subsidizing new entrants without changing the environment that creates monopolies will just feed the beasts with fresh meat.
Exactly. The big corps will just buy the new players and everything will go back to the way it was.
This government has no vision.
Basically what happened in the mobile space. I’m 2008 CRTC had an AWS spectrum auction for new entrants in the wireless industry, namely Mobilicity, Public Mobile, and WIND Mobile. Public was bought out by Telus. Mobilicity was bought by Rogers and merged with Chatr. WIND hung out longer and became Freedom under Shaw, but of course Shawgers happened, so we’re back to square one.
Freedom is under Quebecor now. Not great not terrible. Quebecor is much smaller outside of QC so they keep competing for now.
Break up the Weston vertical monopoly and watch how fast the rest starts evening out.
In other news, water is wet!
We used to have laws and regulations in place for stuff like this, same with the USA. As years passed they lost their teeth
Canada’s regulatory agencies feel so incredibly spineless. So many industries here are unchecked oligopolies with skyrocketing prices.
My American friends are jawdropped when I tell them how much food, internet, and cell plans cost here.
The people in charge… They’re all bought and paid for. That’s why.
Regulatory capture is a common theme regardless of industry here
Right???
You don’t get to have teeth when you’re sucking at the teets.
This was very snappily phrased and made me snort my drink, well done my friend.
You lose all your teeth if all you’re eating is cookies, candy and Coca Cola everyday. Our economy is basically a toothless overweight diabetic
Except it’s not even as diverse as cookies, candy and cola. It’s just real estate all the way down.
We just let Roger’s buy Shaw, I doubt anything will change.
@FunderPants www.tromsite.com/documentaries…
> sees lack of competition due to restrictive gov regulations
> proposes more gov regulations to “fix” the problem
So many small store are close becuase don’t want to take the covid fund because language barrer, store rent are go to sky because the building owner think the store can earn 70% like 17 years ago. The item get from the distubutor is already x3 the price sold on big store and the customer complain is too expensive, look at those big store, they are only $ and you sell $$.
5 companies for food is not enough competition but somehow 3 telecom providers is 🤔
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