Proposing a nationalized grocery store is not going to win votes. A lot of people understand how bad the government is at managing things. Far better would be to tax people less so they can afford necessities. It is insane when the government taxes us, and then we celebrate when they decide to give some money back (sounds like Trump, right?).
In those cases, the market decides. Just look at Target, The Bay, Eatons etc. With all of those failures, the taxpayer wasn’t on the hook for any of it.
Government is bad at managing things…morons still buy this bullshit, so keep paying into loblaws $3B profits, and enjoy the efficiency of Metrolinx and Phoenix Pay, while driving on billions of dollars of shitty roads made by two companies.
And enjoy Ontario insurance where the private sector fights each other tooth and nail to give us insurance 30% higher than any inefficient government plan provinces.
have you heard of SaskTel? It’s a public option for telecom/cell phones, and last I heard, Saskatchewan has by far the lowest prices on cell phone plans in the country, because the big telcos are forced to actually compete, instead of colluding with each other to rip us off.
This is the example I think of every time. There are some really great government run businesses out there that you can actually trust to have your interest at heart.
Yup, also stuff like Lifelabs where they’ve been quietly moving the work of stuff like lab results into the private sector that hospitals then have to deal with.
It’s worth noting that efficiency itself is a loaded term because it requires context. The question that tends to be ignored is what the process is efficient at accomplishing. Private enterprise is efficient at creating profit for the business owner, and any social value produced is strictly incidental. It’s entirely possible to have an enterprise that efficiently lines the pockets of the oligarchs like our telecom cartels, with none of the benefits being passed down to the public. We pay some of the highest rates for mobile data around the world here. Even if public sector was more bureaucratic, for which there is precious little evidence, its focus on directly providing value to the public is what matters.
If you’re so upset about taxes, just wait till you learn how wage labour works and the portion of the value you produce your boss appropriates while paying you a small portion of that as a wage.
Just look at grocery stores, grocers are down to a 3-4% margins on food, and have some of the most efficient logistics networks in Canada.
Contrast that to the governments involvement, they did the zoning laws for the land Loblaws sits, which they essentially turned companies like Loblaws into REIT which is how it derives most its net profit. Because it was more profitable for them to deal in land scarcity and appreciate from real estate speculation due to government caused shortages than it was to appreciate from selling products.
Just look at grocery stores, grocers are down to a 3-4% margins on food
Bullshit.
According to the company’s 2025 annual results, Loblaw reported a **gross profit of approximately **C$20.03 billion for the full year 2025. This figure comes from the income statement summary showing:
Total Revenue: C$63.903 billion
Cost of Revenue: C$43.871 billion
→ Gross Profit: C$20.032 billion (i.e., revenue less cost of goods sold).
Well Loblaws is a REIT as well, and I believe their margins are far higher on that, which raises top line margins.
The REIT does well due to our government zoning policy, which has caused massive urban sprawl and extremely high commercial real estate prices. Likely also causing a lack of competition and higher prices for goods, like everything in Canada it became an oligopoly.
Proposing a nationalized grocery store is not going to win votes. A lot of people understand how bad the government is at managing things. Far better would be to tax people less so they can afford necessities. It is insane when the government taxes us, and then we celebrate when they decide to give some money back (sounds like Trump, right?).
I wish more people understood how bad private companies are at managing things, just as bad or even worse than governments.
In those cases, the market decides. Just look at Target, The Bay, Eatons etc. With all of those failures, the taxpayer wasn’t on the hook for any of it.
Government is bad at managing things…morons still buy this bullshit, so keep paying into loblaws $3B profits, and enjoy the efficiency of Metrolinx and Phoenix Pay, while driving on billions of dollars of shitty roads made by two companies.
And enjoy Ontario insurance where the private sector fights each other tooth and nail to give us insurance 30% higher than any inefficient government plan provinces.
have you heard of SaskTel? It’s a public option for telecom/cell phones, and last I heard, Saskatchewan has by far the lowest prices on cell phone plans in the country, because the big telcos are forced to actually compete, instead of colluding with each other to rip us off.
I have free long distance to Mexico, US and Canada with 50GB for $29 including taxes. (Public Mobile). Sasktel can’t come close.
This is the example I think of every time. There are some really great government run businesses out there that you can actually trust to have your interest at heart.
Another direct example is comparing the nightmare that is private healthcare industry in the states with publicly owned healthcare in Canada.
Doug Ford is doing his best to privatize health care. We waste so much money on temp nurses.
Yup, also stuff like Lifelabs where they’ve been quietly moving the work of stuff like lab results into the private sector that hospitals then have to deal with.
Public options are more efficient than private options see non-profits, healthcare, and education.
When private they all cost more, non-profits you’ll see it in administrative fees.
Metrolinx was construction taken from TTC for “efficiency”.
At one point, they had >100 VPs.
It’s worth noting that efficiency itself is a loaded term because it requires context. The question that tends to be ignored is what the process is efficient at accomplishing. Private enterprise is efficient at creating profit for the business owner, and any social value produced is strictly incidental. It’s entirely possible to have an enterprise that efficiently lines the pockets of the oligarchs like our telecom cartels, with none of the benefits being passed down to the public. We pay some of the highest rates for mobile data around the world here. Even if public sector was more bureaucratic, for which there is precious little evidence, its focus on directly providing value to the public is what matters.
If you’re so upset about taxes, just wait till you learn how wage labour works and the portion of the value you produce your boss appropriates while paying you a small portion of that as a wage.
Just look at grocery stores, grocers are down to a 3-4% margins on food, and have some of the most efficient logistics networks in Canada.
Contrast that to the governments involvement, they did the zoning laws for the land Loblaws sits, which they essentially turned companies like Loblaws into REIT which is how it derives most its net profit. Because it was more profitable for them to deal in land scarcity and appreciate from real estate speculation due to government caused shortages than it was to appreciate from selling products.
Bullshit.
According to the company’s 2025 annual results, Loblaw reported a **gross profit of approximately **C$20.03 billion for the full year 2025. This figure comes from the income statement summary showing:
Total Revenue: C$63.903 billion Cost of Revenue: C$43.871 billion → Gross Profit: C$20.032 billion (i.e., revenue less cost of goods sold).
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/quote/L.TO/financials/
Well Loblaws is a REIT as well, and I believe their margins are far higher on that, which raises top line margins.
The REIT does well due to our government zoning policy, which has caused massive urban sprawl and extremely high commercial real estate prices. Likely also causing a lack of competition and higher prices for goods, like everything in Canada it became an oligopoly.