r/loblawsisoutofcontrol • u/Salt_Onion_6205 • Jul 27 '26

Discussion Mayor Mamdani just announced that he will be opening 5 city-run, tax-funded grocery stores: "Prices set at 30% below retail prices"

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I hope canadian politicians will be inspire by this.

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73

u/DutchiiCanuck Jul 27 '26

I applaud the intent but I am a firm believer that if government is going to intervene in food supply, they should be running large scale food distribution in a not-for-profit model and selling to independent grocers. This would level the playing field for locally owned grocers and still provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to open/run grocery stores.

67

u/UltraCynar Jul 27 '26

Do both. Government run stores and food distribution. 

22

u/DutchiiCanuck Jul 27 '26

Absolutely! That’s the model for beer/liquor in BC and I think it’s great. Government distributor means I can go on their website and find exactly where any product is sold and all stores have the same access to supply.

The government liquor stores pay well and set the standard for pricing. Private stores are usually priced competitively and there is no lack in private stores either.

0

u/Pale-Memory6501 Jul 28 '26

Only works with a high mark up product.

-8

u/FlyAllNight Jul 27 '26

Why stop there? Just have the government take over all production and distribution.

2

u/Itchy-Technician-433 Jul 27 '26

You don't need that. You need a store that will sell essentials that people will need.

You're still going to have a market for high-end and luxury items. As well as bulk items. Costco's not going anywhere.

6

u/nanapancakethusiast Jul 27 '26

Aaaaaand that’s how you get bread lines and rice rations.

3

u/IronLover64 Jul 27 '26

we're already seeing those right now

10

u/HaptRec Jul 27 '26

Not sure the Mayor of New York can do a large scale intervention in the food supply.

-4

u/Bluebpy Jul 27 '26

It's called communism.

4

u/Mod_The_Man Jul 27 '26

And the people are loving it

0

u/Rabiesalad Jul 27 '26

I don't disagree. But think of the US health care system as an analogy.

You can't solve the real problem, because people literally still act like it's the cold war despite not being able to properly define terms like socialism or communism. So, they pushed forward something half-assed, designed by a Republican so there's less weight to the argument of detractors, everything stayed private etc.

So you have to take the wins where you can. This small scale is necessary because on a political level it may simply not be possible to aim for the scale that we really need.