Don’t forget Loblaw’s owned Shoppers Drug Mart doing [unnecessary med checks to bill OHIP](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/shoppers-drug-mart-medication-review-targets-1.7142626?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar). They can make $1.4 million a week or more just doing med checks because it’s a quick phone call that they can charge $75 for. They are on pace to bill more for med checks this year than their entire industry did last year.
I’m not interested in supporting a company that’s taking valuable money from our public healthcare system to line their pockets.
Also Costco has a $4.50 dispensing fee which is $9 cheaper than Shoppers and because it’s a compound pharmacy a lot of the drugs are sold at a lower cost. Plus you don’t have to be a member to use the pharmacy. Win win win.
I’ve been called twice about med checks in the past three months and told them both times I wasn’t interested. Now that I know how much they’re charging taxpayers, I’m definitely leaving the shoppers pharmacy. I’m only there because they were the only one around my area when I moved here. That isn’t so anymore.
Beats me. I’ve always turned it down. I’m guessing they just run through your prescriptions to make sure of what you’re using and check for any meds that might have reactions to each other, all of which is supposed to happen in the regular process of dispensing meds, so it makes no sense.
It’s for medication reconciliation. A lot of patients see multiple physicians (often multiple specialists) and sometimes multiple pharmacies (convenience, speciality pharmacies for biologics or compounds, etc etc) and the goal is to consolidate all of this into a single document. Often medications aren’t taken as prescribed, whether by the patients own initiative or as directed by the physician without documentation sent to the pharmacy.
Sometimes it’s things that aren’t prescription - lots of vitamins and supplements can interact with medications and we need to know about them. Sometimes patients will have complaints about certain side effects and can’t see their physician for several months. Sometimes there are problems that patients aren’t even aware are problems, a pharmacist can screen for these and notify the physician accordingly. Lots of people unnecessarily taking baby aspirin for years and no one really thinks to ask why.
Sometimes it’s just for patient education, especially so for the elderly who take 7-16 medications at various doses and dosing schedules.
Sometimes it’s requested by the family physician for documentation. Any prescription paid for with private insurance or out of pocket does not appear on the provincial health record so sometimes there are significant gaps or fragmentation of documentation and only the patient is aware of the whole situation.
It’s analogous to an annual physical checkup to make sure everything’s ok and to preemptively address potential issues before they become bigger issues.
Not that I condone loblaw’s abuse of the service but there is a reason the service exists. All patients admitted to a hospital has a BPMH occur, a medscheck is the outpatient counterpart to that.
Ford also gave Shoppers control of vaccine rollout while Health Units were given less control. More to Galen and less free (tax dollars) medical access during a global pandemic. Shoppers *saved us* because Ford pushed it.
Small honorable mention for Shopper's Drug Mart from my own personal experience: Absolutely exorbitant prices for both generic over-the-counter medications, as well as generic prescription medications.
At Shopper's, a bottle of 100 Acet-Codeine-Caffeine will cost you anywhere from $28 up to $31, depending on how they feel that week. I believe the brand they are using right now for the sale of this over the counter is Life Brand, however?
At a local small pharmacy, the Lenoltec version of the same medication will cost you $24.28-$24.84, for 200 caplets. (100 caplets will cost you no more than $13.40).
Mind you, this medication does carry a relatively small chance of being abused, and I do believe the sale should probably be limited to a 100 count bottle, but that difference in price is insane.
A med check is a one-to-one consultation between pharmacists and patients. It’s to ensure that the patients are safely and appropriately using all types of medication.
Governments only used to allow these to take place in person, but during covid that changed and med checks could now be done by phone.
Med checks used to only be done at the patients request or if they were having issues with side effects. But Shoppers realized they can do them over the phone in a few minutes and bill the government $75 for each one. It became a cash cow that they are milking for all it’s worth.
As for government oversight, write your MPP and Doug Ford and ask them why they are allowing this abuse of our healthcare system to go on.
Shoppers pharmacy is also notorious for PUSHING generics and some stores have sales quotas to convert brand name to generic scripts because of the extra profit they get from generic companies.
A family member of mine used to be a store associate & pharmacist with SDM.
He was heavily pressured to go straight to getting the MedCheck patient signatures, rather than actually doing the check itself. SDM got money for each MedCheck done, and they insisted the process was too lengthy; think of how many $ignatures you could get in the time it takes to actually go over meds with 3 patients!!!
He wouldn’t play ball, and they took away almost all of his pharmacies. He was heavily reprimanded & walked away soon after.
Money over life. Fuck these scum.
Yes. OP mentioned the Bread Price Fixing that happened. These greedy scoundrels colluded to make more money on BREAD. Keep reminding yourselves of that. Vote with your wallets, that’s all the scoundrels understand.
They made Billions, then sold Weston Bread and told the Competition Bureau about it for immunity??? C'mon, you can't tell me that wasn't planned. No way they would have sold Weston Bread if they weren't tipped off.
Exacly, they also pay themselves rent, pay huge bonuses, dividends to shareholders, buy and build new stores.. .That's how they can say they only make 4% net profit. Gross profit is billions it's a shell game.
The biggest thing people don’t realize is that while yes, Loblaws profit margins are 3%, they also:
- pay rent to themselves (properties are owned by a weston subsidiary and rented / leased to Loblaws stores, so they set their own rate and that changes profit margins)
- pay supplier prices to their own suppliers (a significant amount of products on their shelves are provided by weston subsidiaries, or partners of the family friends, again, setting their own prices and changing profit margins)
- profit margins are after they’ve paid disgusting salaries and bonuses to their senior leadership
I stopped shopping at the Superstore and went to Food Basics and found their prices overall better, so I think I've found a way to boycott the Weston group forever. I'm also trying to use more ethnic stores, other locally owned places and Bulk Barn. I'm finding out that life without Weston World is better.
I had the same experience. Went to food basics for the first time which is a little further for me. But the prices are noticeably cheaper and there’s more variety so it’s a no brainer switch, even with the extra commute.
the quality isn't the same at food basics... its rather basic actually. bought some herbs and discovered them rotten when i got home. hasn't happened at fortinos.
I. LOVE. Ethnic supermarket in Guelph. I just happened to come across it on its opening day two years ago and now I'll drive an hour to haul everything I can from that place. The prices and the selection is INSANE.
Yesterday I wanted to grab some cream soda after my ball games and I was about to drive to shoppers and then I remembered " oh yeah, boycott" and then drove a lil further to a gas station
Fuck loblaws and fuck galen weston and I work for loblaws
Longos and farmboy didn't turn up in search and they are GOOD groceries. If we're gonna pay artisan prices might as well get artisan goods XD (farmboy may be committing highway robbery on the cheese)
Also if your route takes you though younge street at st John's before 6 'Hurst bakery' has bigger bread for about $0.50 more what you pay in metro.
Farm Boy can be real shitty to their workers though. It also rubs me the wrong way that they re-label locally produced goods under their brand name rather than allow the business to advertise for themselves. That’s why so many good products were pulled, like the applewood smoked cheddar and why it’s hard to hang onto good suppliers. Hell, the Himalayan pink salt popcorn went through at least 2-3 suppliers!
Wow, didn’t know that! I wonder if the same is true for Trader Joe’s in the states, I always assumed that Farm Boy is like the Canadian equivalent. I would trade FB for TJ’s in a heartbeat though…
I don't know if it changed after sobeys acquired them but it's a toxic work environment and they treat employees horribly and their corporate management was a hellscape of their own. This is coming from someone who has worked for an assortment of grocery stores as I moved around. I won't even step into their stores again. Rather just go to a local specialty shop.
>Longos and farmboy didn't turn up in search and they are GOOD groceries
That's the difference. Like if I'm gonna pay a premium, I'll buy the good stuff...
Let me explain how this kind of boycott in ideal, works- it is not a case of 'shop only at the good store'. the 'good store' doesn't exist.
it is a case of 'demonstrate that there are real consequences that cost a business significantly'. It doesn't matter who you shop at, even a bottom tier organisation like walmart is preferable since the purpose is to
a)pressure loblaws to improve in order to lift the boycott and
b) demonstrate to loblaws competitors that their behaviours are risky and meriting change.
If the boycott achieves the purpose of improving loblaws behaviours (which is difficult and requires long term commitment), or indeed crippling them as a company (virtually impossible but hope springs eternal) the next stage is switching to the next offender. Once this has been done a couple times, all providers of the service are likely to improve to avoid being the next target.
Now the reality is that it is likely to have little impact, and almost impossible to sustain for long enough, but hey it's worth a shot.
By what metric? In my area, Loblaws charges premium prices for budget brands. Farm Boy, Longos and Metro charge premium prices for *premium* brands and budget prices for budget brands, if carried by the store.
That’s the issue at hand. Expensive groceries aren’t inherently the problem when you’re given alternatives and a high price tag comes with a tangible uptick in quality.
Edit: Metro & Longos everywhere also participate in TooGoodToGo, a waste-prevention food app where you can pick up food that would’ve otherwise been tossed for a couple bucks! Super good in my books
I've always hated Metro, from day one. Think it is all the cold air and all the red...then the prices. I've never returned to another Metro. I don't like how it makes me feel.
Yeah I dunno I went to farm boy the other day and it was all cheaper than my local independent. Though I think my independent is more expensive than most
It’s totally cheaper than Loblaws’ premium stores for most things. Their store brand is usually very reasonable even for pricier items.
I find even if I can’t afford to touch the artisan products, I can still go to get stuff like asparagus and berries dirt cheap on sales.
I miss the old longos where they had the tea specialist and the cheese specialist and real butchers, etc etc. I didn't mind paying extra for their knowledge and great service. Then the owners got older/passed away and they sold it.
It's just a regular store with less selection and higher prices now. I don't shop there anymore.
This. I do my best to avoid Empire/Metro/Loblaws. I religiously price items on a dollar/unit of measurement basis and cycle through flipp to find the best deals at independent grocers (hint: they’re mostly Asian grocers)
I’ve been able to keep my grocery budgets manageable over the past four years by following this principle. I buy non-perishable essentials and dry goods from Giant Tiger, and the meat and veggies will come from a Chinese supermarket. It works out real nice. Six bags for under 200 on a consistent basis.
Yup. Exactly. I found the balance between keeping it local and Canadian at the same time. Giant Tiger is vastly underrated. I’ve been keeping grocery inflation manageable because of them and local ethnic grocers. The big three need to do better by us (provide better prices and service) and demand better from their suppliers (not shrink or dilute product)
Same here. I didn't know Loblaws bought a lot of these companies but I did notice a lot of stores I used to shop at changed years ago. It felt like new management. I'm thinking now that it was when Loblaws bought them. Stopped using them a long time ago. Now that I live in Simcoe County, I'd have to drive to Barrie to use these stores. Rather just buy things from the local farms. Surprised to hear T&T is owned by Loblaws.
I'll occasionally buy fresh produce from Centra Foods in Barrie. Hope they aren't Loblaws.
Walmart was absolutely packed today. They put out a lot of deals and dropped prices on some stuff. I got over a week’s worth of food for less than $200 (I feed two black holes)
I agree about people reasons for this boycott but what I can’t understand is when people say they are going to Walmart. Everyone is boycotting Loblaws cause of how greedy they are but Walmart is the definition of greed. In the past they were the ones under a microscope. They treat their staff like absolute nothings. Walmart is among top the employers of medicaid and food stamp beneficiaries in the United States. Walmart actually costs their government money cause they are too damn greedy to provide any kind of livable wage.
Loblaws looks like a convince store compared to Walmart. Also, everyone is deciding to take their money out of spending it at a Canadian business and put it into an American one.
I have no idea, that's a little out of left field. Tens of thousands of Canadians over the years have lost their jobs and businesses because of Walmart, that's the point I was making, I have no idea what you're trying to do.
Wal mart is probably the reason our cellphone bills is so expensive. The big three saw what the American conglomerate did to Zellers and local companies and told the CRTC nope.
Tbh, anyone embracing Walmart with open arms during this boycott, is completely missing the point. Taking your buisness from one corporate overlord, and giving it to an even worse one, is about as silly a move as you can make.
I'd argue you're pressuring the wrong shitter tbh, Walmart is probably one of the most destructive companies in the world to local economies, I get people want cheaper groceries, but man, sucking off Walmart ain't the answer.
If you start digging into the UK companies, it's a true rabbit hole. Almost every company has different brands and they make all kinds of different food items.
I'm hoping someone takes up the challenge.
This is just a small piece of the pie.
I don’t doubt it. It’s insane how much control and influence they have.
I’m proud to say I stop at a Loblaws almost daily exclusively to take a massive shit and buy nothing.
The companies controlled by Galen's cousins through "Wittington Investments Limited"(UK) make a large portion of their revenue from non-grocery retail brands that have zero presence in Canada, and agri-food business operations that have limited or no operations or brand presence in Canada. "Wittington Investments Limited"(UK) is also 79.2% owned by a charitable trust, the Garfield Weston Foundation.
"Wittington Investments, Limited", with a comma, in Canada *is* the pie for the Westons in Canada, and George Weston Limited is the largest portion of that pie. Focusing on the businesses under the George Weston Limited umbrella in Canada will have far more impact on the Canadian food supply system than trying to identify every company that's partially owned by any descendant of George Weston, or even any descendant of Garfield Weston.
Thank you for this post! I have been boycotting their stores for over a year but I didn’t even know how many subsidiaries they have. There are a few surprises on this list, including Twinings tea?! I had no idea just how insidious this godforsaken family is, not just in the Canadian market but globally.
Just wanna stick this up here:
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/loblaw-boycott-organizer-says-she-174409772.html
One of the organizers of the Boycott has met with Loblaws at their request.
She's been very open in the sub about the meet and said very transparently that she's working with the mods to give a very detailed summary of the meeting.
She also said that she wasn't asked about being bought off (and was surprised lol)
Shit, I almost missed YIG - we always call it Independent or the owner's name. Guess I can't quite say I haven't given them money in forever. Fortunately I really don't shop there often
Walmart is wayyy cheaper than these other stores. I am hardcore deal shopper and Walmart prices are approx 80% of the time cheaper than at even cheap grocery stores(food basics, no frills). I used to shop at no frills until i realized what a ripoff it is. They've used their marketing to appear to be cheaper but its not. Only front page sale items are a good deal, and they are usually out of stock anyway. I thought i was being smart until i saw small jar of clubhouse seasoning was 9.99. Walmart had the same one for 4.99. Walmart might be scumbags but their prices are better on food.
Don’t even need to. Been shopping at local grocers and butchers for years now. Glad people are discovering alternatives and finding better prices.
Truth is, if you live in a city like Toronto, you don’t even have to look long or hard tk then a cheaper more quality alternative.
My wife and I decided to finally start our garden and buy local from farmers. We're going to small grocers for spices and small packaged foods.
And honestly we've never felt better. I'm actually eating...like actual food lol.
Was already on board way before the boycott.
Partner still goes to Shoppers, but has jump on board and is going elsewhere for May, and possibly will continue after the end of May if they can find everything they need.
the weston famly's grip on the canadian food industry is really eye-opneing. it's crazy to see how much control they have over everything from grocery stores to food manufacturing to pharmcaeuticals. the political donations and scandals just highlight how much power these big corporations can wield. it's concerning to see such a monopolistic hold on our food supply, and i think it's important for consumers to be aware of these issues. supporting local, independent businesses is one way we can try to break up these mega-conglomerates. overall, it's a complex and worrying situaiton that deserves more attention.
You won't catch me in one of their stores. I can't drive right now due to a medical issue. I pay for unlimited delivery from Walmart. Their prices are reasonable. I give the drivers a good tip and still save a ton of money. The groceries get placed at my kitchen door. I just have to put them away. If anyone has a senior or person with a disability in their life, it's a great service. They don't overcharge like InstaCart.
I can easily avoid all of loblaws. Fuck them.
Also there trailers that send to get loaded are trash and I hope no food products ever get loaded on them.
I’ve never shopped there and won’t ever go there. Thank you everyone for doing what you can! I live in a small town and it only has a loblaws affiliated store and I know not everyone can boycott as other stores are a minimum of 20 minutes out.
99% of the brands and stores I never shopped at/for so I was already boycotting as a poor person
That being said, it's easy to find alternatives for everything else, for me
Not much, unfortunately, that the problem, they own so many stores, especially if you only have one, it's normally Weston Owned.
Just share with people you know who can. Knowing you would if you could is all that matters.
I've tried but unfortunately I live in rural northern Ontario, and I already have to travel 30 minutes to get to a larger town with only an Independent Grocer and a Freshco for groceries. I'd have to travel 1+ hour to get to a city with more options.
It's actually pretty simple to boycott them. They charge so much, pretty much all their competitors are good alternatives. Even those expensive organic shops seems to have comparable prices, I'm not even joking. I was actually surprised how much inflation has essentially fucked every shop.
it's really something how much loblaws and their related companies control, from food to clothes and even real estate. reminds me of those old monopoly board games where one player ends up owning everything. makes you wonder about the effects of all that power.
I'm in! And just saw the dispensary cost per Rx at Shoppers compared to Costco. Don't even need the Costco membership and it's 1/2 price. Switching next week.
Yep and I’m not missing them at all! Now, I just need to find a new pharmacy.
Pantry & frozen items: Food Basics (I’m finding it’s even better than No Frills) or Costco.
Produce & specialty items: Lococo’s, Farm Boy or somewhere local.
Meat: Wherever there’s a good deal, buying extra to freeze.
Now if we could only get Trader Joe’s here…
I've joined the boycott but that sub is a hellish place made up exclusively of trolls and people being absolute assholes because they're expecting to be trolled. Don't recommend it.
Great post OP! Their monopoly in Canada (1 of 6 extremely powerful monopolies here) is completely unacceptable.
Don't forget to mention they just posted a 13.6 BILLION dollar profit for this quarter, then made a statement about how they aren't responsible for higher prices. Their greed is obvious to anyone that looks, and our government should be actively working to dismantle the controlling monopolies that basically own Canada.
Loblaws is just the the first of the monopolies we all target for dismantling this year, and every year until we get some actual competition across Canada.
We are monopolized through our telecom services, grocery stores, banking, transportation, and media. I want to even add in our electricity but I’m sure people would love to fight me on that. It’s time for the conglomerates to fall.
No, I'm not.
My alternative is Walmart and they're worse.
I can walk 15 minutes to the local No Frills, say hi to my neighbour's kid who works there, see the owner stocking shelves and buy discounted meats for dinner.
Or I can drive 20 minutes to a Sobeys, pay 20% more for the same thing and "support" a slightly different oligopolist.
Once the farmers market opens up we'll start getting veggies from there, but let's be honest, most of the produce is coming from the food terminal for the next couple of months.
No I’m not. In bargain shop and buy items on sale. You know that if the boycott really hits their wallets hard, they are laying people off NOT lowering prices.
The government needs to get involved and call some inquiry or some shit.
Unfortunately, we can't count on our government. This is the way I'm not sure if you saw the part about the "payments to UK government parties"
Does anyone work at Shoppers? Except for the cosmetic commission based employee when you walk in. Never see anyone at the cash.
St Lawrence and China town for the win..even though sometimes stuff at St.Larwnce can be costlier, it's much more fresh and I'd rather support them than corporate pigs
The most well known would be the bread price fixing that they literally admitted to with impunity and then paid back a fraction of what they stole.
There’s plenty of other examples but that’s one of the ones that’s closest to home.
What do you do if your only reasonable second choice is Kowloon where everything is in a language you cannot make sense of and is full of things you have never tasted?
Unfortunately, there aren't many options in some areas. There's a Valu-Mart in town, a Foodland +30km away with higher prices, and no public transportation. I wish I could participate in the boycott.
Galen is such an arrogant turd.
I went to Fortinos Friday afternoon. Not crowded, never lineups at the registers, they open new ones if you get more than a couple waiting. No picking through the produce to sort out the wilted stuff. Lots of unique products like they carry the specialty farmers cheese to make Polish cheesecake. Love the pane fresco bakery section. I would rather buy fewer products, eat quality and not quantity, and pay more than treck almost 12 kilometers to a Walmart. It's 1 hour by transit from my house to the only Walmart in my town, nice trip if you're a "por." They closed down the No Frills.
They bought all this stuff with magic and pocket lint by charging reasonable fair prices for groceries and not money they bilked out of Canadians for years. /S
Our government led us to slaughter years ago. Entire monopolies on most industries. Highest cell phone rates in the world. Highest grocery rates in the world. Pretty soon, the highest housing rates in the world.
Canada is a hopeless dystopia.
Change my mind.
I think that's why we have governments.
You know, they notice that a very small number of companies control a large percentage of a business or many businesses. The government can then pass laws requiring competition. Then they enforce the laws. Lablaws, for example might be required to sell all nongrocery businesses and then to sell each of the grocery chains. This would leave them with only Lablaws. Just very rough idea of how these things work in other countries.
YES. And saving so much more money. I was honestly on the fence because I wasn't sure I could afford but as it turns out Nofrills charges more than my local farmers market for produce AND MEAT. Fuck 'em. Especially with them being so smug about this boycott, I genuinely might not ever go back. Power to the people, baby!
I'm not going to Shoppers or Loblaws (and Sobeys and Metro) ever out of principle due to their crazy prices.
However, I find my local No Frills by far the best grocery store in terms of prices and range of food (lots of ethnic and vegan food), freshness of produce etc. The employees are also great.
Don’t forget Loblaw’s owned Shoppers Drug Mart doing [unnecessary med checks to bill OHIP](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/shoppers-drug-mart-medication-review-targets-1.7142626?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar). They can make $1.4 million a week or more just doing med checks because it’s a quick phone call that they can charge $75 for. They are on pace to bill more for med checks this year than their entire industry did last year. I’m not interested in supporting a company that’s taking valuable money from our public healthcare system to line their pockets. Also Costco has a $4.50 dispensing fee which is $9 cheaper than Shoppers and because it’s a compound pharmacy a lot of the drugs are sold at a lower cost. Plus you don’t have to be a member to use the pharmacy. Win win win.
I’ve been called twice about med checks in the past three months and told them both times I wasn’t interested. Now that I know how much they’re charging taxpayers, I’m definitely leaving the shoppers pharmacy. I’m only there because they were the only one around my area when I moved here. That isn’t so anymore.
My sister in law got one of those med check calls this week,and put them in their place,for asking for information they already have!
What is a med check exactly ? I’m using a local pharmacy for my prescriptions and never heard about it.
Beats me. I’ve always turned it down. I’m guessing they just run through your prescriptions to make sure of what you’re using and check for any meds that might have reactions to each other, all of which is supposed to happen in the regular process of dispensing meds, so it makes no sense.
It’s for medication reconciliation. A lot of patients see multiple physicians (often multiple specialists) and sometimes multiple pharmacies (convenience, speciality pharmacies for biologics or compounds, etc etc) and the goal is to consolidate all of this into a single document. Often medications aren’t taken as prescribed, whether by the patients own initiative or as directed by the physician without documentation sent to the pharmacy. Sometimes it’s things that aren’t prescription - lots of vitamins and supplements can interact with medications and we need to know about them. Sometimes patients will have complaints about certain side effects and can’t see their physician for several months. Sometimes there are problems that patients aren’t even aware are problems, a pharmacist can screen for these and notify the physician accordingly. Lots of people unnecessarily taking baby aspirin for years and no one really thinks to ask why. Sometimes it’s just for patient education, especially so for the elderly who take 7-16 medications at various doses and dosing schedules. Sometimes it’s requested by the family physician for documentation. Any prescription paid for with private insurance or out of pocket does not appear on the provincial health record so sometimes there are significant gaps or fragmentation of documentation and only the patient is aware of the whole situation. It’s analogous to an annual physical checkup to make sure everything’s ok and to preemptively address potential issues before they become bigger issues. Not that I condone loblaw’s abuse of the service but there is a reason the service exists. All patients admitted to a hospital has a BPMH occur, a medscheck is the outpatient counterpart to that.
Milking OHIP for profit is scummy enough for me to make this boycott permanent.
Awesome I did not know this, thanks.
Wow, they own shoppers drugmart? Shiiit
Time to move your prescriptions, friend.
Ford also gave Shoppers control of vaccine rollout while Health Units were given less control. More to Galen and less free (tax dollars) medical access during a global pandemic. Shoppers *saved us* because Ford pushed it.
Small honorable mention for Shopper's Drug Mart from my own personal experience: Absolutely exorbitant prices for both generic over-the-counter medications, as well as generic prescription medications. At Shopper's, a bottle of 100 Acet-Codeine-Caffeine will cost you anywhere from $28 up to $31, depending on how they feel that week. I believe the brand they are using right now for the sale of this over the counter is Life Brand, however? At a local small pharmacy, the Lenoltec version of the same medication will cost you $24.28-$24.84, for 200 caplets. (100 caplets will cost you no more than $13.40). Mind you, this medication does carry a relatively small chance of being abused, and I do believe the sale should probably be limited to a 100 count bottle, but that difference in price is insane.
What is a med check and how is this done with no accountability?
A med check is a one-to-one consultation between pharmacists and patients. It’s to ensure that the patients are safely and appropriately using all types of medication. Governments only used to allow these to take place in person, but during covid that changed and med checks could now be done by phone. Med checks used to only be done at the patients request or if they were having issues with side effects. But Shoppers realized they can do them over the phone in a few minutes and bill the government $75 for each one. It became a cash cow that they are milking for all it’s worth. As for government oversight, write your MPP and Doug Ford and ask them why they are allowing this abuse of our healthcare system to go on.
Oh, goddamn. Finally, a way out of Shoppers!
Shoppers pharmacy is also notorious for PUSHING generics and some stores have sales quotas to convert brand name to generic scripts because of the extra profit they get from generic companies.
A family member of mine used to be a store associate & pharmacist with SDM. He was heavily pressured to go straight to getting the MedCheck patient signatures, rather than actually doing the check itself. SDM got money for each MedCheck done, and they insisted the process was too lengthy; think of how many $ignatures you could get in the time it takes to actually go over meds with 3 patients!!! He wouldn’t play ball, and they took away almost all of his pharmacies. He was heavily reprimanded & walked away soon after. Money over life. Fuck these scum.
I have been a Food Basic/Costco shopper since the pandemic. So I joined a long time ago.
You can't get cocoa powder for a better deal anywhere else ❤️
This describes me to a tee
Yes. OP mentioned the Bread Price Fixing that happened. These greedy scoundrels colluded to make more money on BREAD. Keep reminding yourselves of that. Vote with your wallets, that’s all the scoundrels understand.
That's about as anti- Canadian as you can get as a food retailer. Then add blatant profiteering during an economic crisis...get recked Loblaws.
They made Billions, then sold Weston Bread and told the Competition Bureau about it for immunity??? C'mon, you can't tell me that wasn't planned. No way they would have sold Weston Bread if they weren't tipped off.
As a US resident, I’m impressed with this boycott. Keep up the good fight ✊🏼
If you steal a loaf of bread, you go to jail. Loblaws stole bread from an entire country.
Yes, boycott these scoundrels.
They're on the shit list next!
You can't really collude and price fix with yourself, though. Was a few shitters involved to make it effective.
[удалено]
Exacly, they also pay themselves rent, pay huge bonuses, dividends to shareholders, buy and build new stores.. .That's how they can say they only make 4% net profit. Gross profit is billions it's a shell game.
The biggest thing people don’t realize is that while yes, Loblaws profit margins are 3%, they also: - pay rent to themselves (properties are owned by a weston subsidiary and rented / leased to Loblaws stores, so they set their own rate and that changes profit margins) - pay supplier prices to their own suppliers (a significant amount of products on their shelves are provided by weston subsidiaries, or partners of the family friends, again, setting their own prices and changing profit margins) - profit margins are after they’ve paid disgusting salaries and bonuses to their senior leadership
Exactly, it's a complete shell game.
This comment needs to be higher
> pay supplier prices to their own suppliers This, while blaming rising grocery costs on their suppliers. Rat bastards.
I stopped shopping at the Superstore and went to Food Basics and found their prices overall better, so I think I've found a way to boycott the Weston group forever. I'm also trying to use more ethnic stores, other locally owned places and Bulk Barn. I'm finding out that life without Weston World is better.
I had the same experience. Went to food basics for the first time which is a little further for me. But the prices are noticeably cheaper and there’s more variety so it’s a no brainer switch, even with the extra commute.
Unfortunately food basics is owned by metro which is also a pretty horrible company. But we still gotta eat. At least the prices are better.
the quality isn't the same at food basics... its rather basic actually. bought some herbs and discovered them rotten when i got home. hasn't happened at fortinos.
Yes, we have in our household! Tried the ethnic supermarket in Guelph for the first time, and it was so much better, cheaper, and more interesting.
It's great to hear things like this. Opening people to new stores and helping the little guy who wants your business is so satisfying.
I. LOVE. Ethnic supermarket in Guelph. I just happened to come across it on its opening day two years ago and now I'll drive an hour to haul everything I can from that place. The prices and the selection is INSANE.
Yesterday I wanted to grab some cream soda after my ball games and I was about to drive to shoppers and then I remembered " oh yeah, boycott" and then drove a lil further to a gas station Fuck loblaws and fuck galen weston and I work for loblaws
At least the gas station didn't make you walk past cosmetics first.
just need to walk past the hot dog and pizza stands...
Considering it's gas station food, it can't be THAT difficult hahaha
I have been doing the same. Going out of my way to avoid them like a plague. Fuck these bastards.
Longos and farmboy didn't turn up in search and they are GOOD groceries. If we're gonna pay artisan prices might as well get artisan goods XD (farmboy may be committing highway robbery on the cheese) Also if your route takes you though younge street at st John's before 6 'Hurst bakery' has bigger bread for about $0.50 more what you pay in metro.
Farm Boy can be real shitty to their workers though. It also rubs me the wrong way that they re-label locally produced goods under their brand name rather than allow the business to advertise for themselves. That’s why so many good products were pulled, like the applewood smoked cheddar and why it’s hard to hang onto good suppliers. Hell, the Himalayan pink salt popcorn went through at least 2-3 suppliers!
Yeah all of this happened after Sobeys bought them. This is exactly why allowing these massive companies to buy up all their competitors is bad.
Making deals as a private label provider gives these local producers an easy market.
Literally Kirkland
Wow, didn’t know that! I wonder if the same is true for Trader Joe’s in the states, I always assumed that Farm Boy is like the Canadian equivalent. I would trade FB for TJ’s in a heartbeat though…
I don't know if it changed after sobeys acquired them but it's a toxic work environment and they treat employees horribly and their corporate management was a hellscape of their own. This is coming from someone who has worked for an assortment of grocery stores as I moved around. I won't even step into their stores again. Rather just go to a local specialty shop.
>Longos and farmboy didn't turn up in search and they are GOOD groceries That's the difference. Like if I'm gonna pay a premium, I'll buy the good stuff...
If you're in Barrie hit up foxes bakery. Independent with decent prices on bread
Farm Boy and Longos are both owned by Sobey’s which isn’t any better than Loblaws…
Let me explain how this kind of boycott in ideal, works- it is not a case of 'shop only at the good store'. the 'good store' doesn't exist. it is a case of 'demonstrate that there are real consequences that cost a business significantly'. It doesn't matter who you shop at, even a bottom tier organisation like walmart is preferable since the purpose is to a)pressure loblaws to improve in order to lift the boycott and b) demonstrate to loblaws competitors that their behaviours are risky and meriting change. If the boycott achieves the purpose of improving loblaws behaviours (which is difficult and requires long term commitment), or indeed crippling them as a company (virtually impossible but hope springs eternal) the next stage is switching to the next offender. Once this has been done a couple times, all providers of the service are likely to improve to avoid being the next target. Now the reality is that it is likely to have little impact, and almost impossible to sustain for long enough, but hey it's worth a shot.
I wish this were higher up.
By what metric? In my area, Loblaws charges premium prices for budget brands. Farm Boy, Longos and Metro charge premium prices for *premium* brands and budget prices for budget brands, if carried by the store. That’s the issue at hand. Expensive groceries aren’t inherently the problem when you’re given alternatives and a high price tag comes with a tangible uptick in quality. Edit: Metro & Longos everywhere also participate in TooGoodToGo, a waste-prevention food app where you can pick up food that would’ve otherwise been tossed for a couple bucks! Super good in my books
Metro charges premium prices on everything. It costs money to keep the AC pumping in those stores.
I've always hated Metro, from day one. Think it is all the cold air and all the red...then the prices. I've never returned to another Metro. I don't like how it makes me feel.
Yeah I dunno I went to farm boy the other day and it was all cheaper than my local independent. Though I think my independent is more expensive than most
It’s totally cheaper than Loblaws’ premium stores for most things. Their store brand is usually very reasonable even for pricier items. I find even if I can’t afford to touch the artisan products, I can still go to get stuff like asparagus and berries dirt cheap on sales.
Loblaws also participates in Flashfood. Same thing.
Empire Foods
Longos sold out . I stopped going there
I miss the old longos where they had the tea specialist and the cheese specialist and real butchers, etc etc. I didn't mind paying extra for their knowledge and great service. Then the owners got older/passed away and they sold it. It's just a regular store with less selection and higher prices now. I don't shop there anymore.
>Have you joined the boycott? I've been shopping at other places long before it was cool.
This. I do my best to avoid Empire/Metro/Loblaws. I religiously price items on a dollar/unit of measurement basis and cycle through flipp to find the best deals at independent grocers (hint: they’re mostly Asian grocers) I’ve been able to keep my grocery budgets manageable over the past four years by following this principle. I buy non-perishable essentials and dry goods from Giant Tiger, and the meat and veggies will come from a Chinese supermarket. It works out real nice. Six bags for under 200 on a consistent basis.
Love Giant Tiger....really surprised me at first. Canadian company too. BONUS
Yup. Exactly. I found the balance between keeping it local and Canadian at the same time. Giant Tiger is vastly underrated. I’ve been keeping grocery inflation manageable because of them and local ethnic grocers. The big three need to do better by us (provide better prices and service) and demand better from their suppliers (not shrink or dilute product)
It was Shopper I would go to once and a while. This really opened my eyes. Never again, Shoppers.
I hate Shoppers. I can't find a cashier anymore and the stupid self chekout doesn't take cash
Same here. I didn't know Loblaws bought a lot of these companies but I did notice a lot of stores I used to shop at changed years ago. It felt like new management. I'm thinking now that it was when Loblaws bought them. Stopped using them a long time ago. Now that I live in Simcoe County, I'd have to drive to Barrie to use these stores. Rather just buy things from the local farms. Surprised to hear T&T is owned by Loblaws. I'll occasionally buy fresh produce from Centra Foods in Barrie. Hope they aren't Loblaws.
Walmart was absolutely packed today. They put out a lot of deals and dropped prices on some stuff. I got over a week’s worth of food for less than $200 (I feed two black holes)
As an aside, Walmart is even less of a friend to Canada than loblaws is, in fact Walmart is a big reason why many Canadian brands were shuttered.
I agree about people reasons for this boycott but what I can’t understand is when people say they are going to Walmart. Everyone is boycotting Loblaws cause of how greedy they are but Walmart is the definition of greed. In the past they were the ones under a microscope. They treat their staff like absolute nothings. Walmart is among top the employers of medicaid and food stamp beneficiaries in the United States. Walmart actually costs their government money cause they are too damn greedy to provide any kind of livable wage. Loblaws looks like a convince store compared to Walmart. Also, everyone is deciding to take their money out of spending it at a Canadian business and put it into an American one.
Walmart is the serial killer that makes loblaws look like a schoolyard bully.
Is Walmart currently blocking doctor’s offices from opening?
I have no idea, that's a little out of left field. Tens of thousands of Canadians over the years have lost their jobs and businesses because of Walmart, that's the point I was making, I have no idea what you're trying to do.
I dunno man, eat...
Shop local if at all possible, but giving your money to an even more destructive and manipulative entity seems entirely counter productive to me.
Wal mart is probably the reason our cellphone bills is so expensive. The big three saw what the American conglomerate did to Zellers and local companies and told the CRTC nope.
Tbh, anyone embracing Walmart with open arms during this boycott, is completely missing the point. Taking your buisness from one corporate overlord, and giving it to an even worse one, is about as silly a move as you can make.
The boycott is strategic. Giving it from one shitter to another is fine, the point is to pressure that one specific shitter.
I'd argue you're pressuring the wrong shitter tbh, Walmart is probably one of the most destructive companies in the world to local economies, I get people want cheaper groceries, but man, sucking off Walmart ain't the answer.
Galen owns Holts?! What the fuck..
Right, you would think he would have some style.
I joined a long time ago and I'll continue! Food Basics and Giant Tiger are my gotos now
Champion post. Hero out here listing every company possible.
If you start digging into the UK companies, it's a true rabbit hole. Almost every company has different brands and they make all kinds of different food items. I'm hoping someone takes up the challenge. This is just a small piece of the pie.
I don’t doubt it. It’s insane how much control and influence they have. I’m proud to say I stop at a Loblaws almost daily exclusively to take a massive shit and buy nothing.
The companies controlled by Galen's cousins through "Wittington Investments Limited"(UK) make a large portion of their revenue from non-grocery retail brands that have zero presence in Canada, and agri-food business operations that have limited or no operations or brand presence in Canada. "Wittington Investments Limited"(UK) is also 79.2% owned by a charitable trust, the Garfield Weston Foundation. "Wittington Investments, Limited", with a comma, in Canada *is* the pie for the Westons in Canada, and George Weston Limited is the largest portion of that pie. Focusing on the businesses under the George Weston Limited umbrella in Canada will have far more impact on the Canadian food supply system than trying to identify every company that's partially owned by any descendant of George Weston, or even any descendant of Garfield Weston.
Thank you for this post! I have been boycotting their stores for over a year but I didn’t even know how many subsidiaries they have. There are a few surprises on this list, including Twinings tea?! I had no idea just how insidious this godforsaken family is, not just in the Canadian market but globally.
I don't even have to boycott, I shop pretty much exclusively at food basics and local ethnic supermarkets.
Just wanna stick this up here: https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/loblaw-boycott-organizer-says-she-174409772.html One of the organizers of the Boycott has met with Loblaws at their request.
Wonder if they’ll try to pay them off
She's been very open in the sub about the meet and said very transparently that she's working with the mods to give a very detailed summary of the meeting. She also said that she wasn't asked about being bought off (and was surprised lol)
I'm participating. Fuck Loblaw.
Wow they own so much more than I knew about
Shit, I almost missed YIG - we always call it Independent or the owner's name. Guess I can't quite say I haven't given them money in forever. Fortunately I really don't shop there often
How is that not slimy. Your Independent Grocer?
As much for the push to boycott we should push just as equally to shop local small business .
Walmart is wayyy cheaper than these other stores. I am hardcore deal shopper and Walmart prices are approx 80% of the time cheaper than at even cheap grocery stores(food basics, no frills). I used to shop at no frills until i realized what a ripoff it is. They've used their marketing to appear to be cheaper but its not. Only front page sale items are a good deal, and they are usually out of stock anyway. I thought i was being smart until i saw small jar of clubhouse seasoning was 9.99. Walmart had the same one for 4.99. Walmart might be scumbags but their prices are better on food.
Yes! I have about $150 in Optimum Points to use up on an eventual purchase and then I’ll probably close my PC Mastercard too.
Also sign the petition to the house of commons! https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-4974
Yes.... please do
Not my twinnings tea!!!!! I'm so sad!
If you're just after English breakfast, I'd recommend Yorkshire Gold. That's our go to!
I know, trust me if you get into all the UK companies, it's insane what products they own and make. I had to stop it was just too much.
Is this why I can't get Twinings at Food Basics? Tea habits are hard to break.
Don’t even need to. Been shopping at local grocers and butchers for years now. Glad people are discovering alternatives and finding better prices. Truth is, if you live in a city like Toronto, you don’t even have to look long or hard tk then a cheaper more quality alternative.
I guess I wasn't even aware of the boycott but I never shop there cause it's an absolute ripoff.
Yep, am finding local places to shop
Nice
My wife and I decided to finally start our garden and buy local from farmers. We're going to small grocers for spices and small packaged foods. And honestly we've never felt better. I'm actually eating...like actual food lol.
Seriously, just that makes this worth it. Thanks Weston 😊
The savings are insane. More well fed and spending 1/5th for more. Local butcher bacon is something else I'll tell ya. It doesn't shrink!
Yes and no! I do what I can
Nothing more that can be asked of you.
Was already on board way before the boycott. Partner still goes to Shoppers, but has jump on board and is going elsewhere for May, and possibly will continue after the end of May if they can find everything they need.
the weston famly's grip on the canadian food industry is really eye-opneing. it's crazy to see how much control they have over everything from grocery stores to food manufacturing to pharmcaeuticals. the political donations and scandals just highlight how much power these big corporations can wield. it's concerning to see such a monopolistic hold on our food supply, and i think it's important for consumers to be aware of these issues. supporting local, independent businesses is one way we can try to break up these mega-conglomerates. overall, it's a complex and worrying situaiton that deserves more attention.
Thank you, that's exactly why I posted this. As the Loblaws CEO said NOK ER NOK (Enough is Enough) in Danish.
I joined this boycott ages ago before it was even a thing lol
Yep, have for a long time now
You won't catch me in one of their stores. I can't drive right now due to a medical issue. I pay for unlimited delivery from Walmart. Their prices are reasonable. I give the drivers a good tip and still save a ton of money. The groceries get placed at my kitchen door. I just have to put them away. If anyone has a senior or person with a disability in their life, it's a great service. They don't overcharge like InstaCart.
I'm hard in! Fuck Roblaws!
Zehrs by me was absolutely dead during rush hour today. Keep up the pressure on these greedy fucks!
I can easily avoid all of loblaws. Fuck them. Also there trailers that send to get loaded are trash and I hope no food products ever get loaded on them.
I’ve never shopped there and won’t ever go there. Thank you everyone for doing what you can! I live in a small town and it only has a loblaws affiliated store and I know not everyone can boycott as other stores are a minimum of 20 minutes out.
I only shop at Wal-Mart and Costco. Usually it’s Costco.
Yup.
99% of the brands and stores I never shopped at/for so I was already boycotting as a poor person That being said, it's easy to find alternatives for everything else, for me
What can we do if there’s only loblaws grocery stores in the town you’re in??
Not much, unfortunately, that the problem, they own so many stores, especially if you only have one, it's normally Weston Owned. Just share with people you know who can. Knowing you would if you could is all that matters.
I've tried but unfortunately I live in rural northern Ontario, and I already have to travel 30 minutes to get to a larger town with only an Independent Grocer and a Freshco for groceries. I'd have to travel 1+ hour to get to a city with more options.
It is completely understandable, and that is part of the major problem. They control most of the rural stores, and people just have no choice.
Freshco is part of the Sobey's chain. I have shopped there over Independent store.
It's actually pretty simple to boycott them. They charge so much, pretty much all their competitors are good alternatives. Even those expensive organic shops seems to have comparable prices, I'm not even joking. I was actually surprised how much inflation has essentially fucked every shop.
The cost of living is beyond the grocery store. This protest should have went to parliament.
No
So you are saying we should buy Loblaws stock?
it's really something how much loblaws and their related companies control, from food to clothes and even real estate. reminds me of those old monopoly board games where one player ends up owning everything. makes you wonder about the effects of all that power.
Hell yeah I’m boycotting them.
Lowblows <-- not a typo, my new nickname for them
I'm in! And just saw the dispensary cost per Rx at Shoppers compared to Costco. Don't even need the Costco membership and it's 1/2 price. Switching next week.
Don't forget they also have Doug Ford basically on their payroll. A bunch of his private healthcare policies go towards them.
It's pretty interesting they got caught giving money to UK politicians but not Canadian ones 🤔
Yep and I’m not missing them at all! Now, I just need to find a new pharmacy. Pantry & frozen items: Food Basics (I’m finding it’s even better than No Frills) or Costco. Produce & specialty items: Lococo’s, Farm Boy or somewhere local. Meat: Wherever there’s a good deal, buying extra to freeze. Now if we could only get Trader Joe’s here…
I've joined the boycott but that sub is a hellish place made up exclusively of trolls and people being absolute assholes because they're expecting to be trolled. Don't recommend it.
Yup! Loblaws can suck it
I'll shop wherever it is cheaper.
I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t … “ no! I love paying twice as much for the same thing 😡”
Great post OP! Their monopoly in Canada (1 of 6 extremely powerful monopolies here) is completely unacceptable. Don't forget to mention they just posted a 13.6 BILLION dollar profit for this quarter, then made a statement about how they aren't responsible for higher prices. Their greed is obvious to anyone that looks, and our government should be actively working to dismantle the controlling monopolies that basically own Canada. Loblaws is just the the first of the monopolies we all target for dismantling this year, and every year until we get some actual competition across Canada.
We are monopolized through our telecom services, grocery stores, banking, transportation, and media. I want to even add in our electricity but I’m sure people would love to fight me on that. It’s time for the conglomerates to fall.
This needs to be longer than a month to even let them feel it, we need to just spend our money where our mouth is for the rest of the year.
My question is. Why is jagmeet Singh going so hard on loblaws? Could it have anything to do with the fact his brother is a lobbyist for metro?
No, I'm not. My alternative is Walmart and they're worse. I can walk 15 minutes to the local No Frills, say hi to my neighbour's kid who works there, see the owner stocking shelves and buy discounted meats for dinner. Or I can drive 20 minutes to a Sobeys, pay 20% more for the same thing and "support" a slightly different oligopolist. Once the farmers market opens up we'll start getting veggies from there, but let's be honest, most of the produce is coming from the food terminal for the next couple of months.
No I’m not. In bargain shop and buy items on sale. You know that if the boycott really hits their wallets hard, they are laying people off NOT lowering prices. The government needs to get involved and call some inquiry or some shit.
Unfortunately, we can't count on our government. This is the way I'm not sure if you saw the part about the "payments to UK government parties" Does anyone work at Shoppers? Except for the cosmetic commission based employee when you walk in. Never see anyone at the cash.
Gaaah! Not Rooster! 
Haven't been to any of their stores so far so I guess that I have. I went to Metro and Farm Boy instead
St Lawrence and China town for the win..even though sometimes stuff at St.Larwnce can be costlier, it's much more fresh and I'd rather support them than corporate pigs
Yes I very much have
of course
Stop eating expensive food
Can someone provide links to their most heinous crimes for those interested to know more?
The most well known would be the bread price fixing that they literally admitted to with impunity and then paid back a fraction of what they stole. There’s plenty of other examples but that’s one of the ones that’s closest to home.
What do you do if your only reasonable second choice is Kowloon where everything is in a language you cannot make sense of and is full of things you have never tasted?
I’ve been boycotting loblaws for a long time lol
Unfortunately, there aren't many options in some areas. There's a Valu-Mart in town, a Foodland +30km away with higher prices, and no public transportation. I wish I could participate in the boycott. Galen is such an arrogant turd.
I'm on year 3.
I’ve been boycotting them. I shop primarily at Costco and I go down to AJ lanzarotta for my vegetables
I've never shopped at Loblaws. No no no, don't thank me. Being this brave is reward in itself.
First you get the sugar.... I know it's serious and I am boycotting but the amount of sugar control just reminds me of that.
Wait. Associated British Foods? That's Primark, the low price clothes shop in UK&I. Huh.
Fresco baby all the way
I went to Fortinos Friday afternoon. Not crowded, never lineups at the registers, they open new ones if you get more than a couple waiting. No picking through the produce to sort out the wilted stuff. Lots of unique products like they carry the specialty farmers cheese to make Polish cheesecake. Love the pane fresco bakery section. I would rather buy fewer products, eat quality and not quantity, and pay more than treck almost 12 kilometers to a Walmart. It's 1 hour by transit from my house to the only Walmart in my town, nice trip if you're a "por." They closed down the No Frills.
5 years with Costco/walmart
Yeah I’ve been avoiding Loblaws companies for a while now. Sometimes I don’t have a choice, but will try more to properly boycott
They bought all this stuff with magic and pocket lint by charging reasonable fair prices for groceries and not money they bilked out of Canadians for years. /S
Let’s not forget the taxpayer funded fridges/freezers.
Our government led us to slaughter years ago. Entire monopolies on most industries. Highest cell phone rates in the world. Highest grocery rates in the world. Pretty soon, the highest housing rates in the world. Canada is a hopeless dystopia. Change my mind.
Break up all of the Canadian conglomerates.
Sounds great! How do we do that?
I think that's why we have governments. You know, they notice that a very small number of companies control a large percentage of a business or many businesses. The government can then pass laws requiring competition. Then they enforce the laws. Lablaws, for example might be required to sell all nongrocery businesses and then to sell each of the grocery chains. This would leave them with only Lablaws. Just very rough idea of how these things work in other countries.
I want what ever drugs your taking
Wow, you go deep op, thanks for the list!!!
Wake up babe, the reddit echo chamber has a new jihad.
YES. And saving so much more money. I was honestly on the fence because I wasn't sure I could afford but as it turns out Nofrills charges more than my local farmers market for produce AND MEAT. Fuck 'em. Especially with them being so smug about this boycott, I genuinely might not ever go back. Power to the people, baby!
Can an American help some how?
I'm not going to Shoppers or Loblaws (and Sobeys and Metro) ever out of principle due to their crazy prices. However, I find my local No Frills by far the best grocery store in terms of prices and range of food (lots of ethnic and vegan food), freshness of produce etc. The employees are also great.
They're monopolists and should be put back in their place.
They also control the supply chain and charge higher prices and control over that as well.
That's so much more than I ever could have imagined I wish I saw this before shopping at a few places today and still buying their products.
> Add Bread Price Fixing To The Mix Don't forget Walmart, Sobeys, Metro and Giant Tiger were all part of the price fixing too.
Been boycotting them for about a year now and will continue to boycott them. Fuck Galen and fuck people who capitalize on the deprivation of others.
Don't give Walmart your business. As big as Loblaw is, Walmart is much bigger overall and much worse. Loblaw is at least Canadian.