星空传媒

Politics

    • Jagmeet Singh vs. Galen Weston: The NDP's crusade to bring down 'corporate greed'

    Share
    OTTAWA -

    Pushing a grocery cart up and down the aisles of Loblaws, Jagmeet Singh has to admit it's all a little bit awkward.

    After all, the NDP leader has lambasted the grocery giant and its former president Galen Weston Jr. 鈥 famous among Canadians for his 30-second COVID-era TV and radio ads 鈥 for "ripping people off."

    Today, however, Singh is just running errands. Well, mostly.

    He selects a loaf of sourdough bread and a bouquet of Valentine's Day flowers for his wife. In the dairy aisle, he eschews the familiar yellow "No Name" butter in favour of a more costly brand 鈥 a small act of personal rebellion.

    "I wouldn't have thought twice about it before," he says.

    But Singh has made it a central tenet of his party's policy to take on big companies he believes are making record profits while ordinary people struggle to afford the basics.

    "That is something that people are becoming really aware of 鈥 and that creates some opportunity for us to fix it."

    Singh's private member's 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.

    "Do you think that I want to stifle them from ripping people off? I 100 per cent want to stifle them," Singh says.

    "I want to stifle them from exploiting people."

    The bill proposes stiffer penalties for price and wage-fixing 鈥 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 "rebate" 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's 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's on to something, if Bartosz Bos is any indication.

    Bos runs Cutouts Canada, which sells tote bags emblazoned with Weston's face in the style of former U.S. president Barack Obama's famous campaign poster, the word "Hope" replaced with "Starve."

    Bos said he wishes "feckless bootlickers in government" would develop policies in that benefit Canadians.

    Most, however, are there "to collect a golden pension or to secure a plum position in the private sector after they're voted out of office," Bos said. Canada is no longer a democracy, but "an oligopoly run by select businesses," he added.

    "From 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," 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 "it's practically impossible" 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's 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's the federal government's 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's grocery rebate from last July helpful, while more than half 鈥 52 per cent 鈥 did not.

    But for Singh, the fight against Weston and Loblaws is a personal one, even though he acknowledged that his MP's 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.

    "I don't 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," he said as he pushed his cart through the aisles.

    "I see the kind of look they have when they see the register and the number going up and up. So I can't feel relaxed when I see the people around me hurting."

    This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2024.

    IN DEPTH

    Opinion

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

    When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

    CTVNews.ca 星空传媒

    Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

    The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

    An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

    Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

    The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

    Canada

    • Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

    • Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

    • A field trip aimed at educating Toronto students about the plight of a northern Ontario First Nation ended with them taking part in a protest where pro-Palestinian slogans were shouted.

    • The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

    • The second-degree murder trial of Thomas Hamp is being adjourned until December so an expert witness central to the trial can testify.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    • Lawyers representing the producers of 'Russians at War' say they may pursue legal action against Ontario's public broadcaster for pulling support for the controversial documentary amid outcry from the Ukrainian community and some Canadian politicians.

    • Viewers of Jeopardy got a chance to test their knowledge of trivia about B.C.'s biggest city Wednesday night.

    Business

    Lifestyle

    • They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    Sports

    • BREAKING NEWS

      BREAKING NEWS

      Agreement to build a new NHL arena at LeBreton Flats has been reached between the Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission (NCC), sources tell CTV News Ottawa.

    • The Winnipeg Jets have some huge holes to fill on both offence and defence this season.

    Autos

    • An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

    • Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.

    Local Spotlight

    They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

    Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

    The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

    It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

    A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

    David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

    Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

    • Thousands of protesters are expected to march into downtown Vancouver on Friday, demanding more action from their government to address the growing climate crisis.

    • Members of the only organized support group for the Vancouver Canucks are feeling slighted after losing their usual space at Rogers Arena.

    • There have been more reports of a Bitcoin extortion scam seeking to exploit viewers of "adult content" in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, according to the RCMP.

    • The Ford government is considering restricting Ontario municipalities from installing new bike lanes that would require the removal of lanes of traffic, a source confirms to CTV News Toronto.

    • For the last seven-and-half months, Toronto resident Heather McArthur has been living out what she describes as her 'worst nightmare.' On Feb. 7, her then three-year-old son Jacob along with his father Loc Phu 'Jay' Le departed for what was supposed to be a week-long visit to Vietnam to celebrate the Lunar New Year with family, McArthur says.

    • A field trip aimed at educating Toronto students about the plight of a northern Ontario First Nation ended with them taking part in a protest where pro-Palestinian slogans were shouted.

    • Defence counsel for accused murderer John-Christopher Arrizza argues he was in an 鈥渁ltered state of mind鈥 due to days of drug and alcohol use, sleep deprivation and not eating, when he fatally stabbed a man at a Banff nightclub in 2022.

    • Calgary pickleball players will soon have a dozen new courts to play on.

    • Injury prevention experts are urging Calgarians to ride carefully as e-scooter crashes land hundreds of people in the hospital.

    • LIVE @ 1 P.M.

      LIVE @ 1 P.M.

      Agreement to build a new NHL arena at LeBreton Flats has been reached between the Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission (NCC), sources tell CTV News Ottawa.

    • Police say a man, 34, who was taken to hospital in critical condition after being shot Thursday night has died.

    • The Ford government is considering restricting Ontario municipalities from installing new bike lanes that would require the removal of lanes of traffic, a source confirms to CTV News Toronto.

    • The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

    • Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has invited his Quebec counterpart to the negotiating table to reach an agreement on caribou before Christmas. He noted that the province could benefit from hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to protect biodiversity.

    • The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

    • DEVELOPING

      DEVELOPING

      Edmonton police are warning about traffic disruptions on Friday near the headquarters of the Alberta Teachers' Association, where a protest against the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in school curricula will be taking place.

    • A mother and daughter say they woke up to flames encroaching on their third-floor apartment near Commonwealth Stadium early Friday morning.

    • WEATHER

      WEATHER

      The big weather story today won't really be rain, it'll be the cooler and breezier conditions.

    • A Nova Scotia woman has applied for a medically assisted death, saying after years of battling to receive out-of-country surgery for an illness that causes "indescribable" pain, she struggles to maintain the will to live.

    • Gas prices increased in all three Maritime provinces for the first time in more than a month.

    • A section of Herring Cove Road in the Spryfield area of Halifax is closed to traffic in both directions following a single-vehicle collision Friday morning.

    • The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) has made an arrest following a fire that claimed the lives of two people.

    • Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn鈥檛 been seen since Wednesday morning.

    • A Winnipeg pet rescue is putting out a warning to dog owners across the city about a possible parvovirus in the province.

    • Driving into the tunnels of Nutrien's Rocanville mine, the largest potash mine in the world by production volume, feels like driving down a lonely highway in the middle of the night.

    • Regina police, fire and EMS were called to a three vehicle collision Friday morning outside the CTV News building.

    • The second-degree murder trial of Thomas Hamp is being adjourned until December so an expert witness central to the trial can testify.

    • Amber and Adam Brueckner have a pool-shaped hole in their backyard 鈥 and their wallets.

    • The missing family that was last seen in Kitchener, Ont. on Sept. 1 has been found safe, according to police.

    • A 43-year-old Guelph woman is wanted after police say she broke into a house and made herself at home.

    • The second-degree murder trial of Thomas Hamp is being adjourned until December so an expert witness central to the trial can testify.

    • A gym teacher at a private Christian school in Saskatoon has been charged. Terra MacEwan, 44, is charged with assault with a weapon. A Saskatoon mother who spoke with CTV News says her autistic son was MacEwan's victim.

    • Driving into the tunnels of Nutrien's Rocanville mine, the largest potash mine in the world by production volume, feels like driving down a lonely highway in the middle of the night.

    • Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

    • Two people emerged unhurt after a float plane had a hard landing late Friday morning on Lake Temiskaming.

    • Today, the 71 year old is marking 50 years a paramedic. He said he never aspired to move into management or a desk job, he enjoys being on the road, helping patients too much.

    • Around 2:20 a.m. on Sept. 15, police were called to the area of Richmond Street and Mill Street for a report of an assault 鈥 a man fled the aera on foot before officers arrived.

    • A research team in London is looking into whether or not ChatGPT can be used as a diagnostic tool for medical learners and clinicians.

    • Two men from Barrie have been charged after a deadly shooting at a park in Keswick on Wednesday.

    • Police are investigating after they say several firearms and other valuables were stolen from a home in Tiny Township.

    • The Barrie Transit Field Trip Pass Program offers free elementary and high school transportation for students and teachers, removing the hassle of booking charter buses and managing the costs.

    • Windsor police say a 25-year-old mother has been charged with the drowning death of her 5-year-old child in the family鈥檚 backyard pool.

    • On Thursday, just after 9:30 a.m., a man was found and taken to police headquarters, where he was released with conditions and a future court date.

    • Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island (TWEPI) has launched a new visual journey, called 鈥淓yes on Art鈥.

    • In a rare move, the Greater Victoria School District Board of Education has been slapped with a ministerial order from the province requiring it to update a student safety plan 鈥 drawing concern around political posturing leading up to an election.

    • Getting a bed at one of British Columbia's drug detoxification facilities is like winning the lottery, the vice-president on the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council says.

    • The Union of B.C. Municipalities is asking the provincial government to make transit free for teenagers.

    • A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls 鈥 including one that gave birth to 10 puppies 鈥 from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.

    • A Vulcan, Alta., man has been charged with a Lethbridge woman's murder after her body was found in the Oyen area.

    • A Lethbridge couple got a good reminder as to why you should keep your vehicle doors locked at all times.

    • Lethbridge residents who live near the police range can expect to hear plenty of shots fired Wednesday and Thursday.

    • A new community health profile in the Algoma District shows the area is significantly below provincial averages in a number of health metrics.

    • North Bay Police Service says one person has died following an industrial accident at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Rail Yard on Tuesday.

    • Three northern Ontario residents are charged with drug trafficking after the vehicle they were in got stuck along a bush road off Highway 17 on Monday.

    N.L.

    Stay Connected
    Follow CTV News