2023-09-19 04:00:00
It was almost comforting to see the CEOs of the major brands summoned to Ottawa to account.
What an injustice to see them getting rich while children arrive at school on empty stomachs.
We so want to blame them.
But there is an elephant in the room that no one dares to talk regarding, supply management.
Indeed, it’s a lot easier to hit millionaires than our farmers!
Milk for $8
The problem is that facts are stubborn.
The consumer price index has increased by 8.8% in the country since January 2022. The price of milk? It increased by 14.1%. Meanwhile, the price of poultry increased by 12.2% and that of eggs by 16.9%.
Dairy, poultry and egg producers will plead that they are not getting rich off our backs. Interest on loans, heating, grains, their production costs have exploded.
Certainly, but if we argue that better competition in the world of grocers would ensure better prices, it is difficult not to arrive at the same conclusion for milk, chicken and eggs.
But no one dares to talk regarding this reality. It’s taboo. Supply management is untouchable.
I am not arguing here that we should abolish it to reduce the cost of the grocery basket. This policy has a host of other economic and social virtues beyond product prices. It’s a social choice, we accept it.
I am also not pretending that the big brands have no part of the responsibility in the blow that we take every week at the grocery store.
But please, before we imagine that Metro and IGA will reduce the price of turkey in time for Thanksgiving, let’s not be seduced by the populist solutions advocated by the Trudeau government.
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#taboo #big #pint #milk
