By Staff
September 15th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
The federal Liberals met in London, Ontario for three days and came out with several bold statements.
They said they are going to do something about food prices and have told the supermarkets that if prices are not lower by Thanksgiving – “watch for consequences”.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau credited his Liberal MPs for the government’s decision to summon the heads of major grocery companies to Ottawa next week to discuss how they will “stabilize” food prices on the same day one of the major supermarkets reported a profit increase of 40%
No good news on those shelves.
Supermarket corporate leaders are being summoned to Ottawa to “stabilize” food prices.as they rake in record profits. “Those profits should not be made on the backs of people who are struggling to feed their families,” said Trudeau.
Did Burlington MP Karina Gould speak up for her constituents during the Liberal retreat in London?
House of Commons returns on September 18th
Thanksgiving Day is October 9th this year.
There might be deals on turkeys.
Steven, great point. I don’t think you’ll find a comprehensive study as academics don’t get a lot of funding for studies that question climate policy. To my knowledge Bjorn Lomborg has some interesting things to say about this. One example.. https://www.dailynews.com/2021/04/19/a-carbon-border-tax-will-harm-the-poor-world-the-most/
https://nationalpost.com/news/atlantic-provinces-worse-off-federal-carbon-tax. Here’s a NP story which I’m sure you’ve seen on the impacts of the carbon tax to Canadians which references the PBO report.
The carbon tax on food has to be very significant, more examples…natural gas is used to produce fertilizer, heavy equipment operation in mining and producing potash, consider all the heavy farm machinery used in harvesting that runs on diesel, natural gas that goes into heating farming operations and food processing – heat is used to pasteurize, process and blend food! I does not end there, producing, shipping and selling food creates waste, it now costs more to deal with that waste due to the carbon tax. The list is almost endless.
It’s like the plan to make people homeless and poverty stricken today to save the future? Perhaps making sacrifices to the volcano gods may yield better results?
Nowhere has there been a serious study or investigation into the debilitating impact that the carbon tax has had upon food prices, inflation or affordability. I’m no economist, but I have to assume that higher gasoline prices have to be a contributing factor behind the increasing costs of bringing goods to market, especially since many products like fruits and vegetables aren’t grown here year round.
The carbon tax was a disaster when it was first dreamed up. The average taxpayer can’t afford an $80K electric car, and government rebates only cover a portion of the technology costs to switch from carbon fuels. Moreover, sending out cheques to selected citizens once or twice a year is small recompense for whacking them in the pocket book every time they go to buy groceries. However, in Trudeau’s world, it’s all about optics. When you’re born with a silver spoon in your mouth it’s pretty hard to comprehend the reality of those who aren’t quite so privileged….or is the word “entitled”?
And I think it’s important to be clear about the impact of carbon taxes and restrictive fertilizer regulations on the producers of food by forcing up their costs of production. Those same carbon taxes force up the costs of truckers and food distributors. Those same carbon taxes and packaging regulations force up the costs of grocery retailers. At each stage in the long distribution chain in the food industry, we see the government forcing up costs and using restrictive regulations. Meanwhile, Trudeau yet again tries to deflect his own culpability in food inflation by pointing the finger at the grocery chains (a strategy I noted Jagmeet Singh used yesterday by calling for an excess profits tax).
About 4% of grocery store revenue which includes corporate profit is all that grocers directly control but hey let’s use the NDP talking points because maybe a few of the uniformed will believe that we are actually capable of doing something or if not laying blame. Next move let’s tax them and increase prices further.
Here’s a thought remove HST on all grocery bought items even if they are prepared foods etc. Grocery stores are price takers, not price makers.
Really??? This is Justin Trudeau in December, 2022:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMo7XXjZE88
Quite the flip-flop as Trudeau tries to fool Canadians that he is doing something.
Not to be outdone, I hope readers watched CTV’s “Power Play” as Vassy Kapelos in a hard-edged journalistic interview with Minister Champagne asked him if the federal government was going to reduce carbon taxes and packaging regulations on the grocery giants to offset some of the cost pressures that they are facing. In true Liberal fashion, Champagne deflected each time she posed the question to him. Then, Champagne, in true Liberal fashion, stated that the grocery giants profit margins had doubled–an outright LIE as their gross margins at best have risen by .1%. Not surprisingly, when David Cochrane at CBC, interviewed the same minister, all he posed to Champagne were soft-balls; Cochrane challenged him on nothing.
Vassy also tried to pry an answer out of the housing Minister Sean Fraser on the Liberal housing plans.
https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2766340
Really, that is the plan? Costco and Walmart food prices are about the same between Canada and the US adjusted for F/X. Maybe do something to strengthen our dollar? Axe the useless carbon tax? Eliminate the various “marketing boards”? As for Gould, if you’ve not figured it out yet, her alliance is with the party and her boss, not the people of Burlington as she would like to have you believe. Just check out her statement in London on the carbon tax and what Canadians are getting back. Pure gas lighting (misinformation, fibbing, lying, call it what you want) compared to the the report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer. I guess that’s how she speaks up for constituents?