supermarkets

Thursday June 18, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday June 18, 2020

Grocery chains play the Grinch in springtime

What was going through the minds of Canada’s big grocery chains when they decided, pretty much simultaneously, to end premium pandemic pay for front-line staff?

May 22, 2019

One thing for sure, it wasn’t positive PR or corporate image messaging. Loblaw, Empire Co. Ltd. (Sobeys) and Metro are all getting hammered for the decision. And they deserve the pounding. 

The three grocery giants had been paying their employees a premium for continuing to work during the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping shelves stocked and people fed despite the personal risk. The so-called “hero pay” plans differed somewhat company to company, but they were all intended to convey the message to the public and staff that front-line grocery workers were heroes of the pandemic and deserved recognition.

Coronavirus cartoons

So what happened? Did the pandemic quietly end? Is the elevated risk gone?

Here is what Loblaw hair Galen Weston said about ending the $2 two dollars per hour premium: “As the economy slowly reopens and Canadians begin to return to work, we believe it is the right time to end the temporary pay premium we introduced at the beginning of the pandemic. Things have now stabilized in our supermarkets and drug stores. After extending the premium multiple times, we are confident our colleagues are operating safely and effectively in a new normal.”

Genevieve Gregoire, Metro’s communication manager, said: “We are no longer working under the crisis conditions that prevailed from March through May as grocers were amongst the only retailers open to the public. Demand is stabilizing as other business are reopening.”

Sobeys CEO Michael Medline put it this way: “As provinces execute their reopening plans and customer behaviour shifts, we felt that this was a natural time to end our Hero Pay program.”

Here’s the thing though. Ontario, for example, is still seeing new cases every day. Yes, the numbers are down, but we still saw 184 new cases between Tuesday and Wednesday morning. There are still new outbreaks at LTC facilities. The public and store staff are still advised or required to wear masks. 

Grocery execs and analysts will be quick to point out that most staff are second-income earners, or young people working part-time, as if that somehow means they shouldn’t be paid a living wage. They should and not just during a pandemic. 

We are not through this yet. Nearly everyone expects a second wave, which could bring consequences not unlike the first wave. Will grocery chains again decide their staff are heroes and pay them a premium? Will they again take out expensive TV ads thanking those heroes?

And what about the provincial government? It has been full of praise for front-line workers of all stripes. Wouldn’t you think it would reconsider its decision to kill a minimum-wage increase? Or is all Premier Doug Ford’s rhetoric, like that of the grocery store chains, really just a gimmick? (Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

Thursday September 24, 2015

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Thursday September 24, 2015 Six-packs coming to Ontario supermarkets this fall Consumers, craft brewers, grocers and owners of small bars and restaurants will finally quench their thirst for change under a new deal between Queen's Park and the Beer Store, the Star has learned. The 10-year accord clears the way for six-packs to be sold at 450 of Ontario's 1,500 supermarkets starting later this fall at the same cost as in LCBO outlets and Beer Stores. Beer prices in Ontario will continue Ñ on average Ñ to be among the lowest in Canada. "Nobody thought you could get this agreement with the beer guys," said a senior government official, referring to the foreign parent companies of Labatt, Molson, and Sleeman, which own the Beer Store and have enjoyed a virtual monopoly since Prohibition ended in 1927. "For the small brewers, we are increasing their shelf space," the insider said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the arrangement will not be made public until Wednesday. Indeed, 20 per cent of beer shelving in supermarkets, the LCBO, and Beer Stores will be reserved for independent brewers from anywhere in the world that make fewer than 4.6 million six-packs a year. That boutique category includes Ontario's 100 craft brewers Ñ such as Toronto's Steam Whistle Ñ as well as small Canadian firms like Brick. It does not encompass corporate craft brewer Creemore Springs, which is owned by Molson, or Labatt's Goose Island. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5926184-six-packs-coming-to-ontario-supermarkets-this-fall/ Ontario, Kathleen Wynne, beer, Beer Store, alcohol, monopoly, supermarkets, hoser, health, healthy eating, nanny state, social engineering By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 24, 2015

Six-packs coming to Ontario supermarkets this fall

Consumers, craft brewers, grocers and owners of small bars and restaurants will finally quench their thirst for change under a new deal between Queen’s Park and the Beer Store, the Star has learned. Saturday March 14, 2015

The 10-year accord clears the way for six-packs to be sold at 450 of Ontario’s 1,500 supermarkets starting later this fall at the same cost as in LCBO outlets and Beer Stores.

Beer prices in Ontario will continue — on average — to be among the lowest in Canada. Thursday February 12, 2015

“Nobody thought you could get this agreement with the beer guys,” said a senior government official, referring to the foreign parent companies of Labatt, Molson, and Sleeman, which own the Beer Store and have enjoyed a virtual monopoly since Prohibition ended in 1927.

“For the small brewers, we are increasing their shelf space,” the insider said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the arrangement will not be made public until Wednesday.

Indeed, 20 per cent of beer shelving in supermarkets, the LCBO, and Beer Stores will be reserved for independent brewers from anywhere in the world that make fewer than 4.6 million six-packs a year.

Saturday November 15, 2014That boutique category includes Ontario’s 100 craft brewers — such as Toronto’s Steam Whistle — as well as small Canadian firms like Brick. It does not encompass corporate craft brewer Creemore Springs, which is owned by Molson, or Labatt’s Goose Island. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Friday, September 27, 2013

Friday, September 27, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, September 27, 2013

Downtown farmers’ market on the ropes

For SaleTwo and half years after completing a $6-million plus renovation, the city-operated downtown Hamilton Farmers’ Market is in danger of becoming an economic basket case.

Shane Coleman, president and spokesperson for the stallholders’ association, says vendor sales are down as much as 50 per cent.

He says the award-winning reno project hurt business by taking away the market’s free validated parking on York Boulevard, its $200,000-plus overhanging street sign, and by altering the free-flowing atmosphere.

On top of that, Coleman says sales are falling because of the spring opening of the Nations Fresh Food supermarket in the adjoining Jackson Square, the city’s failure to properly promote the 175-year-old market, and a paternal governance system that doesn’t give vendors a voice in their own future.

“A lot of the problems we’re having now wouldn’t have happened if stallholders actually had some voting power input on what’s happening on day-to-day operations,” says Coleman.

They may soon get their wish. The city is in the midst of a comprehensive review of market operations and governance.

John Hertel, director of enterprise management and revenue generation, hopes to put his report before councillors in mid to late October.

Hertel says it will include researched trends, stakeholder focus group results, and a recommendation to send out a wide-open request for proposals seeking all manner of alternative operating and governance models, including privatization. (Continued: by Andrew Dreschel Hamilton Spectator)