Who says the NDP haven't been talking about affordability? People may not have been listening but that's not Nenshi's fault. I think back to Nenshi's Family Laundromat video, what, a year ago? That was all about affordability. I remember statements on auto insurance, electricity and energy pricing, grocery costs; program cuts. If you're saying this is the first time the NDP have released an affordability *platform*, then I think you're correct. Those are usually done closer to elections, no?
And, yes, the NDP have had other issues to focus on as wel,l such as UCP corruption: healthcare; gerrymandering; education and indeed, separatism. Those persons who asked "where's Nenshi" never mention last year's "Better Together" tour, as extensive as Smith’s "Alberta Next" campaign, but with negligible coverage.
There were also the minor issues of by-elections and internal reorganization.
If your criticism was the NDP has hitherto failed to generate interest in their message, that's valid. To imply they haven't been sending the message out is disingenuous, imho.
( It might also be argued there's such a thing as not peaking too early. The proof will be in the election pudding).
“This watchdog would monitor and track food price trends, review complaints, and provide regular public reporting,” Schmidt said of the independent grocery monitor. “Most importantly, the watchdog will provide transparency to Albertans on food pricing to ensure that prices are fair and not driven by anti-competitive practices or hidden mark-ups.”
Now that sounds remarkably helpful, until you think about it. Hmm, monitor, track, review, regi;ar reprorts! Wow, I mean a whole department or Minister to tell us what we already know. Then we get,the really important stuff, provide transparency, to ensure fair prices, blah blah blah.
Study and tell us things are bad. How does transparency to ensure fair prices actually lead to fair prices. This sounds like a superfragilisticexpialidoscious solution. No mention that this person or department will have the authority to take corporations to court, force roll backs and any other means to actually ENSURE PRICES ARE FAIR. Also the use of value laden subjective terms like "fair" seems somewhat non-commital to ensuring people can afford groceries or whatever else the NDP put under that umbrella.
I can imagine the bureaucracy needed to ensure that all the data is taken into account to determine what is fair. Just my first reaction, but the NDP are not going to get any votes from swing voters when a proposal requires a massive bureaucracy, which we all know means more or higher taxes for someone.
The federal government already tracks some of this data. But your point about more bureaucracy and it's efficacy is well taken. E.g. Where's the federal Competition Bureau on affordability?
Exactly! Who's heard of them. But they do still exist.
They're currently running an investigation into the grocery store restricted covenant thing ( along with everyone else). But they're not getting very far; the courts blocked their demand for data from the grocery chains, saying it was "too broad". The issue is low lying fruit, imho, compared to the greater issues of food affordability.
In the past the Bureau has investigated gasoline pricing but as I recall the results were inconclusive.
The perpetual question around the Competition Bureau is does it lack teeth, or is the whole approach ineffective?
I think there is a move to increase the powers of the Competition Bureau, according to a news conference Carney held lately. The real question in my mind is, what exactly is the role of the Competition Bureau in dealing with competition. It would seem by the name, they should be investigating these mergers and buyouts which in effect create monoplistic markets. Maybe I am to cynical, but having one company like Loblaw, operate Superstore, No Frills and others, Sobey's operating Sobey's and Safeway and others, is in reality the exact same company operating with different names, all the while duping the public into thinking they are separate entities. Even here in Alberta, we have ATCO GAS, ATCO ELECTRIC who supply the gas and electricity to certaing areas as a monopoly. We then have some retailer called ATCO ENERGY, which sells the consumer their gas and electric. I asked a rep from ATCO ENERGY what they could do about the ridiculous cost of transmitting and transporting the molecules and electrons to our homes. Answer: Nothing, we are not the same company. Bull durham. Our governments tend to allow monopolies to operate while claiming they are protecting consumers from price gouging, and other nefarious actions by companies. Yeah, colluding on the price of bread. Wow! And how is anyone supposed to benefit when the culprits are found guilty, the bread is gone and so is the evidence that we actually bought it.
Who says the NDP haven't been talking about affordability? People may not have been listening but that's not Nenshi's fault. I think back to Nenshi's Family Laundromat video, what, a year ago? That was all about affordability. I remember statements on auto insurance, electricity and energy pricing, grocery costs; program cuts. If you're saying this is the first time the NDP have released an affordability *platform*, then I think you're correct. Those are usually done closer to elections, no?
And, yes, the NDP have had other issues to focus on as wel,l such as UCP corruption: healthcare; gerrymandering; education and indeed, separatism. Those persons who asked "where's Nenshi" never mention last year's "Better Together" tour, as extensive as Smith’s "Alberta Next" campaign, but with negligible coverage.
There were also the minor issues of by-elections and internal reorganization.
If your criticism was the NDP has hitherto failed to generate interest in their message, that's valid. To imply they haven't been sending the message out is disingenuous, imho.
( It might also be argued there's such a thing as not peaking too early. The proof will be in the election pudding).
Https://competition-bureau.canada.ca
This caught my eye.
“This watchdog would monitor and track food price trends, review complaints, and provide regular public reporting,” Schmidt said of the independent grocery monitor. “Most importantly, the watchdog will provide transparency to Albertans on food pricing to ensure that prices are fair and not driven by anti-competitive practices or hidden mark-ups.”
Now that sounds remarkably helpful, until you think about it. Hmm, monitor, track, review, regi;ar reprorts! Wow, I mean a whole department or Minister to tell us what we already know. Then we get,the really important stuff, provide transparency, to ensure fair prices, blah blah blah.
Study and tell us things are bad. How does transparency to ensure fair prices actually lead to fair prices. This sounds like a superfragilisticexpialidoscious solution. No mention that this person or department will have the authority to take corporations to court, force roll backs and any other means to actually ENSURE PRICES ARE FAIR. Also the use of value laden subjective terms like "fair" seems somewhat non-commital to ensuring people can afford groceries or whatever else the NDP put under that umbrella.
I can imagine the bureaucracy needed to ensure that all the data is taken into account to determine what is fair. Just my first reaction, but the NDP are not going to get any votes from swing voters when a proposal requires a massive bureaucracy, which we all know means more or higher taxes for someone.
The federal government already tracks some of this data. But your point about more bureaucracy and it's efficacy is well taken. E.g. Where's the federal Competition Bureau on affordability?
Does that even exist any longer? Haven't heard that name in so long I was surprised when you used it.
Exactly! Who's heard of them. But they do still exist.
They're currently running an investigation into the grocery store restricted covenant thing ( along with everyone else). But they're not getting very far; the courts blocked their demand for data from the grocery chains, saying it was "too broad". The issue is low lying fruit, imho, compared to the greater issues of food affordability.
In the past the Bureau has investigated gasoline pricing but as I recall the results were inconclusive.
The perpetual question around the Competition Bureau is does it lack teeth, or is the whole approach ineffective?
I think there is a move to increase the powers of the Competition Bureau, according to a news conference Carney held lately. The real question in my mind is, what exactly is the role of the Competition Bureau in dealing with competition. It would seem by the name, they should be investigating these mergers and buyouts which in effect create monoplistic markets. Maybe I am to cynical, but having one company like Loblaw, operate Superstore, No Frills and others, Sobey's operating Sobey's and Safeway and others, is in reality the exact same company operating with different names, all the while duping the public into thinking they are separate entities. Even here in Alberta, we have ATCO GAS, ATCO ELECTRIC who supply the gas and electricity to certaing areas as a monopoly. We then have some retailer called ATCO ENERGY, which sells the consumer their gas and electric. I asked a rep from ATCO ENERGY what they could do about the ridiculous cost of transmitting and transporting the molecules and electrons to our homes. Answer: Nothing, we are not the same company. Bull durham. Our governments tend to allow monopolies to operate while claiming they are protecting consumers from price gouging, and other nefarious actions by companies. Yeah, colluding on the price of bread. Wow! And how is anyone supposed to benefit when the culprits are found guilty, the bread is gone and so is the evidence that we actually bought it.