In the same week… Public Health officials responsible or millions of Canadians warned that malnut-rition-related illnesses have become alarmingly common. And Loblaw’s – Canada’s largest grocery retailer – posted another quarter of double-digit profits.
Public health officials in 4 abutting districts in one of the most densely populated agricultural reg-ions in Canada last week issued a joint statement warning that reports of illnesses related to poor quality or insufficient food reached record levels in the first half of 2026. And the most common reason given by victims when questioned by health care providers was – they simply can’t afford enough decent food.
At the same time, Loblaw’s – Canada’s largest food retailer, and the most visible member of the Big 5 supermarket cartel (which also includes Metro, Sobeys, Walmart and COSTCO) – posted its 7th con-secutive fiscal quarter of record, double-digit profits.
What’s going on?
Loblaw’s claims the latest profit surge comes mainly from the success of its ongoing discount-outlet initiative. The program involves redeveloping some existing locations and building new ones in areas where banners such as Loblaw’s No-Frills an No Name are expected to perform better than its main-stream, mid- and up-market stores.
But that doesn’t make sense… If lower-income folks are benefiting from lower prices at the discount stores, why are malnutrition cases soaring?
The explanation is almost too simple. Regardless of food retailers’ highly-publicised efforts to ad-dress the food price crisis, their best efforts are not working. More people are starving than ever before.
Not just their fault…
It’s not just the fault of the food retailers. They are the focus of criticism because they are at the centre of the issue and are most visible targets. We need to remember that inflation is still out of control. And there’s Trump’s war in the Middle East which is forcing record high oil prices – which in turn drive up the cost of everything. And at the end of the train, there’s the inevitable caboose – climate change.
So it comes down to necessities: We have to concentrate on factors we can control now, rather than railing helplessly about long-term issues such as climate change and the oil situation. And that means addressing the fat profit margins still enjoyed by the food retailers.
What to do?
A small group of huge companies controls the vast majority of the food supply – not only here in Canada but across the developed world. Those companies state openly in their public records, that they see their main responsibility as to protect the interests of their shareholders, producing corp-orate growth and increasing profits. But their commitment to consumers is much less specific…
“Today, our goal is to be the best in food, health and beauty — to help Canadians Live Life Well®,” Loblaw’s Corporate website declares. “We’re guided by a shared set of values and grounded by our commitment to social responsibility.”
It’s clear where their priorities lie. And it’s not with consumers.
My take
The Federal Government recently announced a new wide-ranging investigation into competition in the food industry. Not just the supermarket sector, but all parts of the food supply chain, from farm to table.
Recalling scandals in the food industry over the past few decades – not the least of which was mas-sive bread price-fixing by several of the Big 5 retailers and major bakeries – one is tempted to wond-er how many other such schemes lie undiscovered behind the seemingly noble face of the food retail cartel.
The competition investigation won’t report for at least a couple of years. In the meantime, it’s es-sential that the government act on a parallel program to force food retailers to cut their clearly unreasonable profits and reduce food prices so the spectre of starvation no longer haunts our most vulnerable neighbours…
My questions to you..
Do you agree that supermarket profits are excessive?
Do you agree that the supermarket chains are failing in their commitment, to, ‘help Canadians Live Life Well’?
Do you agree that the government should take action now to force food prices down?
Would you sign a petition demanding that the government force food prices down?
Muse on that!
~ Maggie J.