LIVE B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
The food going into grocery store shopping carts in Canada is changing as many consumers struggle to afford basics amid a nearly 10 per cent increase in food costs, the head of one of the country's largest supermarket chains said Wednesday.
“We are seeing double digit rates of inflation on basic commodities like eggs, flour and meat,” Michael Medline, president and CEO of Empire and Sobeys, said during an earnings call.
“Customers simply won't and often cannot accept cost increases at some of the extreme levels we're seeing ... the reality is that a lot of Canadians are struggling under the weight of inflation.”
Customers are shopping around more, reducing impulse buys by sticking to shopping lists, and trading down from higher-cost items to more affordable products or brands, he said.
They're also looking for more sales and, at times, buying less overall.
“People only have so much money,” Medline said. “They have to make harder choices. Periods of high inflation are terrible for Canadians.”
Both Loblaw Companies Ltd. and Metro Inc. shared similar details on shifting shopping habits in recent months.
Medline's comments came as Empire reported a quarterly profit of $178.5 million, up from $171.9 million a year earlier, as its sales also climbed higher.
The company said its fourth-quarter profit amounted to 68 cents per diluted share, up from 64 cents per diluted share a year before.
Sales in the 14-week period ending May 7 totalled $7.84 billion, up from $6.92 billion, helped by the additional week of operations, the acquisition of Longo's, higher fuel sales, increased food inflation, and the expansion of FreshCo in Western Canada and Farm Boy in Ontario.
Same-store sales excluding fuel fell 2.5 per cent compared to the COVID-elevated sales levels last year.
Empire is focused on supplier relationships and negotiations as well as its new rewards program to bring value to consumers, Medline said.
The company's new loyalty program Scene+ will help customers save money at the grocery store by earning and redeeming points for groceries, he said.
Statistics Canada said Wednesday its consumer price index rose 7.7 per cent in May compared with a year ago - its largest increase since January 1983 when it gained 8.2 per cent.
But the cost of food purchased at stores continued to outpace overall inflation, rising 9.7 per cent compared with a year ago as the cost of nearly everything in the grocery cart went higher.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2022.
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.