Recently food chains have instituted the practice of receipt checks. The claim is to prevent revenue loss due to theft. To be fair, there is a problem with shoplifting in stores, which can affect consumer costs. Having said that, being blatantly disrespectful of the people coming to the store to buy needed food is not the answer, especially when earnings have hit record highs. But, these giants don't give a dam about the customer; that is the sentiment being expressed these days. They know they have a monopoly and can do as they wish; no one, especially in government, is doing anything about it. To be fair, there is a case for the check on the receipt. While not legally required, it does help to ensure you as a customer did not get overcharged and that you have all the items you bought, and it does prevent or lower theft which can cause prices to go up down the road. The issue is how this all started, how it appears to the customer, and how it looks in the face of record profits and the strong, and I do mean a strong belief that consumers are being gouged. This belief is also felt concerning bank fees, phone and internet costs, and even gas pricing. The root of all of this is little to no competition in Canada. The argument, and it is a load of crap, is that our population is too small to support other players. It comes down to a federal government and their provincial counterparts turning a blind eye to the problem or just throwing a band-aid on it. Frankly, they are scared; they know they would lose donor dollars if they dared to break up monopolies.
But, you see, we must do this in Canada. It's time for a significant change in how competition works in Canada. It is time to put the foot down and make it clear that government elected by the people runs the show, not the corporations. Now let's be fair. Some corporations are fair-minded, run well, and positively contribute to the economy. In short, not all corporations are evil. Then again, what defines an evil corporation? The evil is not the entity, but what they are doing or not doing. The evil is also what is allowed by those entrusted to not allow it.
By the way, not all monopolies are bad. Just as not all corporations are evil. Same for the government. There is no room for competition in certain parts of the economy; thus, a monopoly that sets or fixes a price can be healthy for the economy and consumers.
The problem, which is a big one here in Canada, is that we have allowed them to grow too big. They have too much power, and the government does little to fix that. It will be up to the next PM to do something to open up the markets for things like food, housing, telecom, and banking in a regulated and fair manner. This also applies to the media. In short, too much monopoly and not enough diversity is making our lives difficult, and it's no longer fair, and NO, it does not suck to be us. We matter. The middle and lower class matter. So to the next person wanting to be PM, fix this, end this, and do it soon. We do not have to take it in the butt any longer, and we will not go away until you do.
Source material:
Article from The Conversation.
The Charted Professionals of Canada website has an excellent and sobering article about monopolies in Canada. They have a second article about this topic that is just as solid as the first.
Got something to say? You should actually have something to say, and you should convey your thoughts to the PM. Here is the contact form to send him your thoughts on monopolies. You can also contact Pierre Poilievre and Jagmeet Singh.
Competition Bureau of Canada. This body regulates completion. Some argue it could do it better. Tell them what you think.
