Pushing a grocery cart up and down the aisles of Loblaws, Jagmeet Singh has to admit it害羞草研究所檚 all a little bit awkward.
After all, the NDP leader has lambasted the grocery giant and its former president Galen Weston Jr. 害羞草研究所� famous among Canadians for his 30-second COVID-era TV and radio ads 害羞草研究所� for 害羞草研究所渞ipping people off.害羞草研究所�
Today, however, Singh is just running errands. Well, mostly.
He selects a loaf of sourdough bread and a bouquet of Valentine害羞草研究所檚 Day flowers for his wife. In the dairy aisle, he eschews the familiar yellow 害羞草研究所淣o Name害羞草研究所漛utter in favour of a more costly brand 害羞草研究所� a small act of personal rebellion.
害羞草研究所淚 wouldn害羞草研究所檛 have thought twice about it before,害羞草研究所� he says.
But Singh has made it a central tenet of his party害羞草研究所檚 policy to take on big companies he believes are making record profits while ordinary people struggle to afford the basics.
害羞草研究所淭hat is something that people are becoming really aware of 害羞草研究所� and that creates some opportunity for us to fix it.害羞草研究所�
Singh害羞草研究所檚 private member害羞草研究所檚 bill, which aims to bring down the cost of basic essentials, passed second reading in the House of Commons with the support of Conservative and Bloc Qu茅b茅cois MPs.
Liberals have voted against the bill, with some accusing the NDP leader of trying to stifle free enterprise.
害羞草研究所淒o you think that I want to stifle them from ripping people off? I 100 per cent want to stifle them,害羞草研究所� Singh says. 害羞草研究所淚 want to stifle them from exploiting people.害羞草研究所�
The bill proposes stiffer penalties for price and wage-fixing 害羞草研究所� measures that would have had consequences for the bread price-fixing scandal of 2017. It would also set rules to prevent mergers that Singh believes lead to abuse.
Under pressure in the polls, the Liberals introduced measures aimed at easing the pain, including a grocery 害羞草研究所渞ebate害羞草研究所� last summer and changes to the Competition Act to help boost competition in the sector.
Last month, Industry Minister Fran莽ois-Philippe Champagne said he was actively working to lure international grocers to Canada to spur retail competition, an effort critics derided as futile.
As for the Conservatives, they have relentlessly blamed higher prices across the board on the Liberal government害羞草研究所檚 price on carbon-based pollution.
Loblaws did not respond to a request for comment.
In the past year, Singh has been trying to tap into palpable consumer anger in Canada as his party tries to capitalize on cost-of-living concerns in order to expand its political footprint in the next federal election.
He害羞草研究所檚 on to something, if Bartosz Bos is any indication.
Bos runs Cutouts Canada, which sells tote bags emblazoned with Weston害羞草研究所檚 face in the style of former U.S. president Barack Obama害羞草研究所檚 famous campaign poster, the word 害羞草研究所淗ope害羞草研究所� replaced with 害羞草研究所淪tarve.害羞草研究所�
Bos said he wishes 害羞草研究所渇eckless bootlickers in government害羞草研究所� would develop policies in that benefit Canadians.
Most, however, are there 害羞草研究所渢o collect a golden pension or to secure a plum position in the private sector after they害羞草研究所檙e voted out of office,害羞草研究所� Bos said. Canada is no longer a democracy, but 害羞草研究所渁n oligopoly run by select businesses,害羞草研究所� he added.
害羞草研究所淔rom energy and telecommunications to media, travel, and feeding ourselves, we are under the thumb of a few powerful corporate entities run by craven sociopaths who would drown us all in a single glass of water, if it suited their purpose,害羞草研究所� Bos said in an interview conducted by email.
Like Singh, Bos said he would prefer not to shop at any Loblaws-affiliated stores, but the company is so vast 害羞草研究所渋t害羞草研究所檚 practically impossible害羞草研究所� not to shop there.
Most grocery stores in Canada are owned by Loblaw Companies Ltd., Sobeys Inc. and Metro Inc., leaving consumers with few alternatives.
A new survey by Leger for The Canadian Press found about 64 per cent of respondents fear the price of groceries is going up. Only 28 per cent said it was about the same, while just five per cent say it害羞草研究所檚 on the way down.
They vary, however, when it comes to who deserves the blame.
Some 27 per cent of respondents attributed the increase to global factors like inflation and supply chain issues, while 26 per cent said grocery chains are squeezing consumers in the name of profit. Another 23 per cent said it害羞草研究所檚 the federal government害羞草研究所檚 fault.
The survey, conducted online between Feb. 16-18, surveyed some 1,529 Canadian respondents. Online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they are not considered a random sample.
Nearly one in four respondents, or 23 per cent, said they found the federal government害羞草研究所檚 grocery rebate from last July helpful, while more than half 害羞草研究所� 52 per cent 害羞草研究所� did not.
But for Singh, the fight against Weston and Loblaws is a personal one, even though he acknowledged that his MP害羞草研究所檚 salary leaves him better off than the average Canadian consumer.
In his early 20s, Singh took in his 15-year-old brother as his dad struggled with addiction. In those days, he said, grocery store aisles were stressful places as he struggled to afford enough food for the week.
害羞草研究所淚 don害羞草研究所檛 feel it when I go to the grocery store now, but I feel it when I look at the faces of the people I see,害羞草研究所� he said as he pushed his cart through the aisles.
害羞草研究所淚 see the kind of look they have when they see the register and the number going up and up. So I can害羞草研究所檛 feel relaxed when I see the people around me hurting.害羞草研究所�
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