NDP leads vote to expand investigation into high food prices and corporate greed « Canada’s NDP
OTTAWA – On Monday, NDP critic for Food Price Inflation Alistair MacGregor will lead a vote to extend an NDP-initiated investigation into high food prices and corporate greed. With the investigation set to end in the coming days without hearing from big grocery CEOs who have avoided testifying, MacGregor’s motion would force the CEOs of Loblaw, Metro and Empire to come before committee to get to the bottom of sky-high food prices.
“Families are taking food out of their grocery carts and stretching their budgets as far as possible to try and keep up with their rising food bills. But still costs are going up,” said MacGregor. “Grocery CEOs are making more money than they ever have before, and yet while working Canadians are the ones asked to make sacrifices when deciding to pay food or rent, as their wages aren’t going up. It doesn’t make any sense, and Canadians deserve answers from the big CEOs profiting off of food.”
In the fall, the NDP forced all members of parliament to admit that corporate greed is fueling inflation, and to investigate grocery chains who are getting rich off the backs of Canadian workers. Loblaw temporarily froze the prices of No Name products at record costs – proving that rich CEOs have all the power to control food costs for families. Now, they’ve lifted the freeze, and people are bracing for steep price hikes.
The five biggest grocery chains control 80 per cent of all the food people in Canada consume – and the Liberals are leaving it up to their CEOs to set food prices.
“People deserve to know why the Liberals have turned their backs on Canadians. CEOs are making millions by charging Canadians $40 for a pack of chicken,” added MacGregor. “Of course, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives won’t help — they believe in bigger profits for corporations fueled by low paycheques for workers. That’s why New Democrats are fighting to get to the bottom of the corporate greed that’s hiking inflation, and fighting for a windfall tax like other jurisdictions are using to lower prices. We can stop incentivizing and rewarding corporations for ripping people off.”