[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[Barrister]

highly competitive marketplace. 

I am sorry CC, but facts do not support your assertion.
The Canadian grocery marketplace is not highly competitive, it is one of the most concentrated marketplace of the industrialized world.  See the links to the studies I posted.
As for the margins, it is debatable.  They have higher margins than typical retail stores like Wal Mart and Costco.  Lower than other retail stores like exclusive clothing stores.  Retail margins for grocery and foods are typically below 2%, while Canadian groceries are close to double that.

Just wanted to comment on the bolded.

I fully understand that the prices when I go to my local Safeway are going to be a little bit higher than if I go to Costco or Walmart.  I'm willing to pay that little bit more for a bit of added convenience - store is much closer, more manageable scale.

I also know that if I need milk at midnight because we forgot to get some I can go to my local 7-11.  The price is much higher (and thus much higher margins) but I'm paying for the extra convenience of being able to buy milk at midnight.

[HVC]

Costco is weird because they make most of their money on memberships.  It's why they're cracking down on card sharing.


*edit* overall profit might still be at the 2%, no idea. Just commenting on the price of goods.

[viper37]

highly competitive marketplace. 

I am sorry CC, but facts do not support your assertion.
The Canadian grocery marketplace is not highly competitive, it is one of the most concentrated marketplace of the industrialized world.  See the links to the studies I posted.
As for the margins, it is debatable.  They have higher margins than typical retail stores like Wal Mart and Costco.  Lower than other retail stores like exclusive clothing stores.  Retail margins for grocery and foods are typically below 2%, while Canadian groceries are close to double that.

Just wanted to comment on the bolded.

I fully understand that the prices when I go to my local Safeway are going to be a little bit higher than if I go to Costco or Walmart.  I'm willing to pay that little bit more for a bit of added convenience - store is much closer, more manageable scale.

I also know that if I need milk at midnight because we forgot to get some I can go to my local 7-11.  The price is much higher (and thus much higher margins) but I'm paying for the extra convenience of being able to buy milk at midnight.

7-11 have higher operating costs than Safeway, not higher margins.  It costs more to supply a 7-11 than a Safeway.  Likewise, it costs less to supply a Costco or a Wal Mart than a Safeway.

Costco makes money from membership and cuts prices accordingly.  Wal Mart makes money of volume and keeps around 2% net profit on its sales.

It's hard to seperate the activities of the groceries vs the pharmaceuticals vs the rest of the business.  They're much higher in the pharmaceuticals despite being retail too.

[viper37]

Trudeau says progressive parties must prioritize everyday needs over lofty rhetoric

[Jacob]

Yeah, if they do that solidly and competently for two years then the next election may still swing their way.

That said, saying it is the easy part...

[crazy canuck]

Trudeau says progressive parties must prioritize everyday needs over lofty rhetoric

 

[Barrister]

Trudeau says progressive parties must prioritize everyday needs over lofty rhetoric

That, my friends, is comedy gold.

[Grey Fox]

It's pretty good. 156 years of the Liberal party barely doing anything until they find themselves at the wall.

[Barrister]

So back to India/Canada/politics...

Jagmeet Singh really needs to be careful here. He of course is a practicing Sikh.  And very early on in his youth he was associated with pro-Sikh-independence/Khalistan movements within the Sikh community.

One of the most common tropes against any kind of minority or immigrant group is that they are more loyal to their home community then their new home.  This was used against Kennedy (he was a catholic, dontcha know), has been used against Jews since forever.  So it would be unfair to say that simply because Singh is Sikh he's more loyal to Sikhs than he is to Canada.

But the thing is - he's going really, really hard on anti-Modi, anti-Indian-government language.  As a leader of a Canadian national party he has to come across as having his first loyalty to Canada, not Khalistan.

[Admiral Yi]

But the thing is - he's going really, really hard on anti-Modi, anti-Indian-government language.  As a leader of a Canadian national party he has to come across as having his first loyalty to Canada, not Khalistan.

I don't see the conflict.  Every Canadian should be going hard on Modi for this one.

[Josephus]

In other news I'm surprised Languished hasn't commented on yet....rumblings of a new centre-Conservative party from the Centre Ice coalition?

Could this be Trudeau's lifesaver?



https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/new-federal-centrist-party-canada-1.6972891

A new federal party is entering the fray and is hoping to gain support from voters unhappy with the federal Liberals and Conservatives.

The group Centre Ice Canadians (CIC) announced Wednesday that, after months of consultations, it would be launching a new centrist party — the Canadian Future Party.

Dominic Cardy, a former Progressive Conservative provincial cabinet minister in New Brunswick and CIC advisory board chair, will lead the new party temporarily.

Cardy told CBC News Network's Power & Politics that CIC has heard from Canadians who "are fed up with the status quo."

"We heard from Liberal and Conservative members and voters that they felt their parties were becoming more extreme and less representative of their vision for the future of Canada and less representative of their values," Cardy told host David Cochrane.

Cardy said "evidence will be at the heart" of the party's ideology.

"When we talk about being centrist, we're not talking about being the mushy middle. We're talking about being the sharp, pointy end of the arrow trying to push things forward," he said.

'Worse than 338 root canals'
CIC was founded in 2022 by former federal Conservative leadership candidate Rick Peterson and branded itself as a "bold voice for pragmatic, centrist Canadians."

At one of CIC's initial public meetings, the group insisted it wasn't interested in forming a party. Peterson compared the task of setting up 338 riding associations to undergoing "338 root canals."

"We have found out there is something worse than 338 root canals," Cardy said when asked what changed since that meeting. "It's letting our politics be dominated by people who are unable to present any sort of plans for our country's future and are mainly engaged in online click-baiting."

Cardy said many of the party's policies will be those CIC has been suggesting over the past year. He pitched ideas such as transitioning to nuclear energy as a way to reduce carbon emissions and bringing in more skilled immigrants to shore up Canada's workforce.

When asked about the new party, Housing Minister Sean Fraser told reporters the Liberals are focused on putting forward policies to help Canadians.

"Regardless of which parties may emerge ... our job is not to defend the interest or perspective of our party. It's to defend the interest and perspective of Canadians," he said.

CBC News reached out to the federal Conservative Party for comment but has not received a response.

The CIC says it will soon begin the process of registering the new party with Elections Canada. To do so, the party must have a minimum of three officers, an auditor and the signatures of 250 electors willing to register as party members.

Cardy said the party plans to hold its founding convention and leadership vote sometime in 2024. He didn't rule out running for the permanent leadership position but said he is focused on getting the party up and running.

[Sheilbh]

Interesting detail in the Canada-India story that a British Sikh with ties to pro-Khalistan (and banned) groups also died suddenly and quite young. Wonder if it'll get opened up.

On Singh's challenge it is, apparently, one of the causes for British Hindus moving more to the Tories. Labour has strong support among the British Pakistani community so has had some fairly trenchant party resolutions on Kashmir, but also they tend to win in Sikh areas and have been pushing particularly on Britain's historic role in Indira Gandhi storming the Golden Temple, but also asking if there's any intelligence sharing etc.

In part some British Hindus are perhaps a bit BJP-sympathetic, but others who are pretty secular basically feel that Labour has nothing positive to say about India and feel basically that it's getting a bit like the left and Israel. Add that to a Tory Hindu PM (whose background is almost stereotypical) and the vote is shifting.

So not sure if that angle of communal politics is in Canada yet, but it may follow.

[HVC]

If we're thinking of the same guy who died in the same month the uk already said they're not reopening the case. I *think* he had cancer but died unexpectedly still. Supporters were saying poison back then.

[HVC]

There are 1.9 million Indians in Canada, so just under 5% of the population. About 3/4 of million Sikhs. From what i gather (i was a little kid) after the air india bombing Sikhs weren't looked at too kindly, but things have changed to a more sympathetic view towards them.

[viper37]

In other news I'm surprised Languished hasn't commented on yet....rumblings of a new centre-Conservative party from the Centre Ice coalition?

Could this be Trudeau's lifesaver?

I hadn't seen the news yet.