352
submitted 1 week ago by NightOwl@lemmy.ca to c/canada@lemmy.ca
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[-] Scott_of_the_Arctic@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago

God yes. The grocery selection here is horrible.

[-] Scott_of_the_Arctic@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

That and the coordinated price fixing by the supermarket chains and the supply monopolies (Bama, asko etc)

[-] MITM0@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago
[-] gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

food, housing, transport is the three things that the government should take care of

though food is more complex than housing and transport because there's more things to take care of, more members involved and more things to plan out carefully

[-] rozodru@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

I live in Toronto, I just do all my grocery shopping in Chinatown on Spadina and the surrounding area. so much cheaper, like insanely cheaper and better stuff too.

[-] e839f72a@lemmynsfw.com 44 points 1 week ago

But i heard the communist countries have fake grocery stores with plastic fruits just for show!!!

[-] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

We cut out the middleman and put the plastic directly in the food.

[-] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 28 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I don't see what the backlash is about. A publicly owned store is no different from Costco, except everybody's a member and there are no owners raking off prof-... ohhhhh, now I get it.

[-] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 23 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Of course it will work. But it has to also do a publicly-owned distribution centre/network. Loblaw now owns a significant part the distribution side and independent grocers end up buying from Loblaw. This is a great hack that lets Loblaw say their retail margins aren't that high, while making money before the products even enter the retail side. And of course it allows them to make money from smaller competitors.

[-] LeFantome@programming.dev 17 points 1 week ago

Are Co-ops not already a thing? How is this different?

[-] Cethin@lemmy.zip 6 points 6 days ago

State owned and employee owned are very different, though both are better than the corporate system we have now. Both have advantages and disadvantages though. State owned ideally operates solely for the benefit of the public, though the government has to not be corruptable. Employee owned answers to employees, so it operates in their best interest, which is often to customers best interest too. They aren't run purely to generate a profit for shareholders. They're generally operated to be stable and provide good jobs for a long time, and not exploit employees obviously.

[-] ComradeRachel@lemmy.blahaj.zone 36 points 1 week ago

Co Ops are owned by the employees or customers/members depending on how they are setup. The article was implying it being owned by the local government like utilities and roads are.

[-] twopi@lemmy.ca 1 points 6 days ago

The article shouldn't be implying. It's part of his platform.

[-] HertzDentalBar@lemmy.blahaj.zone 14 points 1 week ago

Nationalized Loblaws simple as that

[-] roguetrick@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Part of the problem as you get more rural is the distribution centers end up being co-ops between established players(more of a US thing, see associated grocers who were a co-op that won't allow new players to join as competition) or straight monopolies for very large swaths. You'd need to recreate that whole system, not just the stores themselves. That or break them up.

[-] Cerothen@lemmy.ca 16 points 1 week ago

We could take steps to expand an already National and will developed logistics service that is currently in need of new expanded revenue in order to establish supply chains to more places and quicker.

Canada Post could pivot from just being mail and some parcels to also transporting groceries to local public supermarkets.

But really prices were low when there were more Crown Corps and less mega corps. Lots of people refuse to appreciate that fact though.

[-] LiveLoveLaff@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 week ago

I’m curious. Can I made a bunch of bread, sit just off NoFrills property, and gift a loaf to everyone who agrees not to buy bread from the store.

[-] Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca 9 points 6 days ago

The penalty for illegal price fixing food like Weston's Bread, should be nationalization into the public fold.

The Weston Bakery Empire and Galen's yacht aptly named "Bread" should be public property.

I think if you got the right license to be an artisan producer you would be fine, might need a permit to setup a tent or something.

[-] OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 week ago

Technically yes, but I'm sure the cops would show up and charge you with mischief or something. Remember, the cops are here to protect the status quo, not to protect you.

[-] jerkface@lemmy.ca 4 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

They're here to advance the interests of the state. Which is usually the status quo, but when it's suddenly not, shit happens.

[-] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 week ago

I hope so. I'm all in. Let's get the people at the lower end of the economic scale to now have a choice to eat healthy instead of no choice at all. Right now they can only afford all the processed stuff that'll eventually kill you because it is dirt cheap.

[-] Paige@piefed.ca 7 points 1 week ago

Terrible solution.
Break up and split the wholesale and retail operations. Legislate against wholesale pricing discrimination (Wholesale pricing cannot have price breaks which exclude smaller competitors)

[-] jerkface@lemmy.ca 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

It's a solution that can be implemented by powerless people on their own. I agree that the state has better means at its disposal, but they're not going to help any time soon.

[-] theacharnian@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 week ago

Why "terrible"? You got something against crown corporations?

[-] Paige@piefed.ca 3 points 1 week ago

I don’t have a universal like or dislike of publicly owned companies. Expending limited resources and political capital on running a supermarket before trying any antitrust regulation is a waste of governmental resources.

Fuck Weston nationalize Loblaws. Boom running a supermarket made easy.

[-] puppinstuff@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 week ago

We don’t even need a whole grocery store. Dry goods at Canada Post locations could help offset groceries a lot.

[-] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Canada post doesn't have a lot of their own locations any more. The majority are contracted locations within other stores.

[-] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 1 points 6 days ago

Mostly Loblaw's (Shopper's Drugmart) in Ontario. And apparently the employees work for Galen too so they're paid accordingly.

[-] ikidd@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

We have a Co-op with multiple stores in Central Alberta, nothing ever seems cheaper than at other stores. Everyone just goes to Costco for the major grocery trip, Coop just gets business for one-offs and people with mobility issues.

[-] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

We have co-op in Manitoba as well, and their prices seem close-ish to Sobeys and Safeway. Or at least close enough that it's not worth travelling further to get to those other stores. (Couldn't tell you about superstore or Walmart, I refuse to give money to those assholes).

We do a Costco haul every 4-6 weeks, and also go to the co-op at least once a week. Mostly for perishables, and whatever deals they have in their weekly flyer. And for their very good selection of local/Canadian items.

[-] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Switzerland, not Canada here but; Migros is a "Genossenschaft" (basically that, owned by the people) and forms a country-wide duopoly with Coop, so there's that.

[-] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 week ago

Well as someone that has been doing a good chunk of grocery shopping at Giant Tiger, I say that this is a great idea.

[-] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 week ago

And in the past months, I've found some Canadian produce at Giant Tiger when nobody else in the area had it. Specifically carrots.

[-] Washedupcynic@lemmy.ca -2 points 1 week ago

We have those in America already, they are called co-ops. This is the one in my area: https://www.honestweight.coop/ and https://www.niskayunaco-op.com/ . Mamdani's proposal isn't bold, it's already been done, and there is no reason why they can't be implemented in NYC.

[-] villasv@lemmy.ca 4 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

they are called coops

No they are not.

Of course coops exist in Canada but it’s not the same thing

[-] Revan343@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 week ago

This isn't about co-ops

this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2025
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