{"id":32250,"date":"2023-11-27T12:26:48","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T17:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/?p=32250"},"modified":"2023-11-27T13:28:44","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T18:28:44","slug":"why-justin-trudeau-is-blaming-grocers-for-surging-food-prices-in-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2023\/11\/27\/why-justin-trudeau-is-blaming-grocers-for-surging-food-prices-in-canada\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Justin Trudeau Is Blaming Grocers for Surging Food Prices in Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"\/wordpress\/?attachment_id=32251\" class=\"attachment wp-att-32251\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/justin-trudea_food-prices-1024x602.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"802\" height=\"471\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-32251\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/justin-trudea_food-prices-1024x602.png 1024w, http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/justin-trudea_food-prices-300x176.png 300w, http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/justin-trudea_food-prices-768x451.png 768w, http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/justin-trudea_food-prices-204x120.png 204w, http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/justin-trudea_food-prices.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 802px) 100vw, 802px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>New government data emerged this week showing that food prices in Canada continue to climb.<\/p>\n<p>Though year-over-year <a href=\"https:\/\/fee.org\/articles\/how-inflation-drinks-your-milkshake\/\" class=\"keychainify-checked steem-keychain-checked\" data-toggle=\"popover\">inflation<\/a> of consumer prices overall cooled to 3.8% in September,<span>&nbsp;<\/span><u><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/ca.finance.yahoo.com\/news\/food-prices-how-much-grocery-costs-september-135835540.html\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"Link keychainify-checked steem-keychain-checked\">food prices increased<\/a><\/u><span>&nbsp;<\/span>5.8% from a year ago, driven by surging prices of bakery products (up 8%), fresh vegetables (7.6%), pasta products (10.8%), and poultry (6.5%).<\/p>\n<p>Food prices have long been a sore spot for Canadians. Even prior to 2023,<span>&nbsp;<\/span><u><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/canadas-national-food-policy-is-at-risk-of-enshrining-a-two-tiered-food-system-205741\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"Link keychainify-checked steem-keychain-checked\">statistics showed<\/a><\/u><span>&nbsp;<\/span>that some 7 million Canadians, including 1.8 million children, were in households struggling to put food on the table.<\/p>\n<p>As inflation continued to drive food prices upward in 2023, consumer outrage quickly mounted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I\u2019m paying that much, I hope there\u2019s gold in that chicken,\u201d one user responded to a viral tweet in January showing a $37 price tag on a package of chicken breasts.<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 753px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=feeonline&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1610439351120588801&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Ffee.org%2Farticles%2Fwhy-justin-trudeau-is-blaming-grocers-for-surging-food-prices-in-canada%2F&amp;sessionId=885ea805dccc2f88ca3e40db1e921c7f017c2b13&amp;siteScreenName=feeonline&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1610439351120588801\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<p>The episode prompted accusations of price gouging and<span>&nbsp;<\/span><u><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/01\/07\/world\/canada\/loblaws-grocery-food-inflation.html#:~:text=Researchers%20at%20four%20Canadian%20universities,dairy%20products%20and%20meat%20products.\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"Link keychainify-checked steem-keychain-checked\">a high-profile story<\/a><\/u><span>&nbsp;<\/span>in the<span>&nbsp;<\/span>New York Times<span>&nbsp;<\/span>\u2014 but the paper reported that outrage at grocers was misplaced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile it\u2019s easy to get angry at the grocer, there\u2019s very little evidence that the grocers are actually taking advantage of the situation,\u201d said Mike von Massow, a food economics professor at the University of Guelph in Ontario.<\/p>\n<p>Food prices have only gotten worse since then, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, apparently not a reader of the<span>&nbsp;<\/span>New York Times, has found the same scapegoat as many others unversed in basic economics: grocers.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, Trudeau threatened to slap grocery stores with new taxes if they don\u2019t find a way to lower food prices.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLarge grocery chains are making record profits. Those profits should not be made on the backs of people who are struggling to feed their families,\u201d Trudeau<span>&nbsp;<\/span><u><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ctvnews.ca\/politics\/trudeau-calls-on-major-grocers-to-stabilize-food-prices-drawing-industry-pushback-1.6561994\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"Link keychainify-checked steem-keychain-checked\">told an Ontario crowd<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n<p>By taking aim at grocers and \u201crecord profits,\u201d Trudeau is parroting the rhetoric of some U.S. politicians, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who has argued that inflation is being driven by \u201c<u><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ewarren\/status\/1713603820050157916\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"Link keychainify-checked steem-keychain-checked\">corporate greed<\/a><\/u>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The idea that corporations suddenly became greedy in the aftermath of the pandemic never passed the economic smell test, and it<span>&nbsp;<\/span><u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalreserve.gov\/econres\/notes\/feds-notes\/corporate-profits-in-the-aftermath-of-covid-19-20230908.html\" class=\"Link keychainify-checked steem-keychain-checked\">was recently rebutted<\/a><\/u><span>&nbsp;<\/span>in a Federal Reserve paper.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCorporate profit margins were not abnormally high in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, once fiscal and monetary interventions are accounted for,\u201d noted Dino Palazzo, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Board.<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\">\n<div id=\"om-fqmeg7lcejd7fy5oro5r-holder\">\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"om-lxkcubhhqwmdm0lkjkbp-holder\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Yet politicians such as Trudeau, who less than a year ago<span>&nbsp;<\/span><u><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vMo7XXjZE88\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"Link keychainify-checked steem-keychain-checked\">criticized the idea of using a windfall tax<\/a><\/u><span>&nbsp;<\/span>on grocery companies to lower food prices, have repeated the claim over and over again that greedy corporations are the root cause of inflation. Why?<\/p>\n<p>The answer is simple: the true blame for inflation lies with<span>&nbsp;<\/span>them.<\/p>\n<p>Pierre Poilievre, leader of Canada\u2019s Conservative Party, hit the nail on the head in a recent interview when he pointed out that the Canadian government\u2019s policies are to blame for inflation \u2014 as are those who lead it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[Trudeau] prints $600 billion, grows our money supply by 32% in three years,\u201d Poilievre said. \u201cThat\u2019s growing the money eight times faster than the economy. No wonder we have the worst inflation in four decades.\u201d<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 552px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=feeonline&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1714276316382683511&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Ffee.org%2Farticles%2Fwhy-justin-trudeau-is-blaming-grocers-for-surging-food-prices-in-canada%2F&amp;sessionId=885ea805dccc2f88ca3e40db1e921c7f017c2b13&amp;siteScreenName=feeonline&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1714276316382683511\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<p>This is the mystery of inflation. (It\u2019s not really a mystery.) Politicians and central banks<span>&nbsp;<\/span><u><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/miltimore79\/status\/1483188552175271939\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"Link keychainify-checked steem-keychain-checked\">flooded the economy with money<\/a><\/u>, which devalued the currency.<\/p>\n<p>Basic economics teaches that increasing<span>&nbsp;<\/span><u><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stlouisfed.org\/education\/feducation-video-series\/episode-1-money-and-inflation#:~:text=To%20summarize%2C%20the%20money%20supply,leading%20to%20increases%20in%20unemployment.\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"Link keychainify-checked steem-keychain-checked\">the money supply faster<\/a><\/u><span>&nbsp;<\/span>than an economy can provide new goods and services will result in price inflation, and that is precisely what we\u2019ve witnessed. Indeed, for much of modern history, inflation was defined as expansion of the money supply, not an increase in prices (which is the consequence of expanding the money supply). Henry Hazlitt famously explained the difference in<span>&nbsp;<\/span><em><u><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/fee.org\/resources\/economics-in-one-lesson\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"Link keychainify-checked steem-keychain-checked\" data-toggle=\"popover\" data-original-title=\"\" title=\"\">Economics in One Lesson<\/a><\/u><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInflation is an increase in the quantity of money and credit. Its chief consequence is soaring prices,\u201d Hazlitt explained. \u201cTherefore inflation \u2014 if we misuse the term to mean the rising prices themselves \u2014 is caused solely by printing more money.\u201d<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/siomoCTV\/status\/1610439351120588801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"keychainify-checked steem-keychain-checked\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Politicians such as Trudeau cannot, of course, admit it\u2019s their own policies and money printing that are to blame for high food prices. So they hold speeches blaming grocery stores and food producers for the inflation they caused and threaten them with new taxes.<\/p>\n<p>Whether Canadians will see through Trudeau\u2019s crude charade is unclear. What is clear is that Canadian grocers are not responsible for the skyrocketing price of food in Canada. Justin Trudeau and the Bank of Canada are.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jmmfT0JnvPc?si=d62K6OBWBp6qUmjs\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/canadian-grocers-arent-responsible-for-surging-food-prices\" class=\"keychainify-checked steem-keychain-checked\">This article originally appeared on The Washington Examiner<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" defer=\"\" async=\"\"><\/script>\n<div>\n<h5>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/fee.org\/people\/jon-miltimore\/\" class=\"keychainify-checked steem-keychain-checked\"><br \/>\nJon Miltimore<br \/>\n<\/a><\/h5>\n<p class=\"brief-bio\">\n<p>Jonathan Miltimore is the Editor at Large of FEE.org at the Foundation for Economic Education.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/fee.org\/articles\/why-justin-trudeau-is-blaming-grocers-for-surging-food-prices-in-canada\/\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New government data emerged this week showing that food prices in Canada continue to climb. Though year-over-year inflation of consumer prices overall cooled to 3.8% in September,&nbsp;food prices increased&nbsp;5.8% from a year ago, driven by surging prices of bakery products (up 8%), fresh vegetables (7.6%), pasta products (10.8%), and poultry (6.5%). Food prices have long been a sore spot for Canadians. Even prior to 2023,&nbsp;statistics showed&nbsp;that some 7 million Canadians, including 1.8 million children, were in households struggling to put food on the table. As inflation continued to drive food prices upward in 2023, consumer outrage quickly mounted. \u201cIf I\u2019m paying that much, I hope there\u2019s gold in that chicken,\u201d one user responded to a viral tweet in January showing a $37 price tag on a package of chicken breasts. The episode prompted accusations of price gouging and&nbsp;a high-profile story&nbsp;in the&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;\u2014 but the paper reported that outrage at grocers was misplaced. \u201cWhile it\u2019s easy to get angry at the grocer, there\u2019s very little evidence that the grocers are actually taking advantage of the situation,\u201d said Mike von Massow, a food economics professor at the University of Guelph in Ontario. Food prices have only gotten worse since then, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[374,622,898,3834,3145],"class_list":["post-32250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-politics","tag-canada","tag-economics","tag-inflation","tag-justin-trudeau","tag-prices"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32250"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32253,"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32250\/revisions\/32253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}