Minimum pricing in AB, AFAIK, is regulated on the wholesale price of the product. So, producers are regulated, but retail stores aren’t prevented from competition, loss leaders, stunts, etc., which is what this might be.
Given that the tax money from alcohol/tobacco just goes into provincial and federal slush funds that proportionately end up being funneled into seniors benefits, I don’t believe minimum pricing really addresses the things that people think it does. I’m an advocate of directing alcohol taxes towards the harms it creates. But, try to find a politician who wants to grind that axe. I say this as someone who enjoys a good beverage, & acknowledging the pragmatic importance of offsetting the healthcare costs of alcohol abuse. I don’t believe that simply making a good more expensive is the wisest move on the policy side, if healthcare outcomes are the ultimate target.
Every cheap clear spirit from an AB producer is proofed, or re-distilled 97%abv neutral grain spirit from a factory in Saskatchewan. The neutral grain spirit from Saskatchewan is very high quality, so, actually kind of impossible to fuck up. Some distilleries actually manage to, however.
As a millennial with a not-amazing but decent paying job, the notion of retirement at all is laughable. What incentive do people like me have to save, when inflation and cost of living are on the trajectory that they’re currently on? Putting money away at this point just means less money for groceries, rent, and enjoyable things. And in 5 years, that saved money will be worth less than it is today.
In September, the Canadian prime minister told lawmakers that “agents of the government of India” had been linked to Mr. Nijjar’s killing on Canadian soil
Fair - all I’m saying is, given what we know, it’s not a situation of India’s involvement being equally likely and unlikely. It’s likely, and there are good reasons to believe it to be the case, and no good reasons to doubt it. So I think making a point of saying that it’s unproven is nitpicking and doesn’t accurately reflect the facts of the matter.
The claim that ‘the people who killed Nijjar were too young to be state actors’ is fallacious to begin with. It’s even more tenuous in light of everything else that’s known about the murder.
It goes without saying that there’s no reason to give any weight to India’s denial of involvement. That’s all that really needs to be said about that.
Canada expelled an Indian diplomat. There’s no reason to do that if India wasn’t involved. There’s no reason for India not to cooperate with investigations if they’re not involved. We know that Five Eyes intelligence exists that makes a connection between the assassination and the Indian government. The intelligence itself hasn’t been disclosed (and never will be - sources & methods, etc). So, waiting for that kind of disclosure before forming an opinion on this is folly at best.
The current Canadian government is horribly weak on matters of foreign interference, so if they’ve been mealymouthed regarding this assassination, I don’t think that casts doubt on India’s involvement. If anything, it’s a suggestion of the opposite.
Given the degraded state of Canada’s current foreign policy, it’s expected that they would tiptoe around confirming a direct link between India and the assassination, and may choose to never confirm it. That doesn’t mean we should infer that a link doesn’t exist.
With all that in mind, I don’t see any reason to conclude that India wasn’t involved.
Provincial governments need to work closely with the federal government. The provincial government actually has a responsibility to establish and nurture that relationship, and not simply throw temper tantrums when the relationship isn’t what they want it to be. When the UCP chooses to be oppositional and obstructive like this, it hurts Alberta citizens, and makes life worse.
There are a lot of things I love about Alberta. But if the next provincial election shows that a majority of the citizens truly want a provincial government that behaves like this, I’m outta here.
Canada’s Competition Bureau has launched investigations into the parent companies of grocery chains Loblaws and Sobeys for alleged anti-competitive conduct, court documents reveal, with Sobeys’ owner calling the inquiry “unlawful.”...
This is an encouraging step, and it’s nice to see the heat being turned up on the grocery monopoly.
I think we need cost controls and compulsory transparency about pricing. What stick exactly are the grocery companies wielding to prevent measures like that from being rolled out? A federal government with vision and principles would have had a plan and gotten this done yesterday. Instead, we’re waiting for the assent of megacorps to a non-binding code of conduct, which everybody knows is total vaporware.
I can see why people are disaffected by all the hand waving about ‘competition’. Increased competition is probably part of the solution to the problem here. But it’s not a valid starting point. It’s a result of wise policy and good implementation.
Premier Doug Ford’s push to get beer and wine into convenience stores ahead of schedule will cost Ontario taxpayers at least $225 million, but there’s evidence the full price tag actually adds up to hundreds of millions more....
After he was charged with possessing child pornography, Nathan Allen Joseph Legault discovered a figure from his past he hoped might help with his future....
In the case at-hand, Legault certainly looks like a guy who was grasping at straws for a lighter hand from the justice system. Not sure who would need to be ‘paid’ in this circumstance.
As a sidebar, I believe Gladue explicitly addresses loss of language and connection with background as an impact of colonialism that must be considered in sentencing, i.e., it’s not necessary to have a deep connection with Indigenous heritage / culture to be considered via Gladue. But yeah, not a factor in this case, which the judge went to great lengths to point out.
Anyway, the sentencing referenced some material that pointed me to the case of writer Joseph Boyden, who falsely claimed Indigenous ancestry. Led me to an article by Wab Kinew about the issue titled There is room in our circle for Joseph Boyden. If you don’t mind sharing, what’s your take on Kinew’s stance?
I ask because it strikes me as antipodal from your view, and I’m just not sure what to think about the issue of identity here.
Got to do something over the winter (slrpnk.net)
Posters promoting theft from Loblaws circulate online (atlantic.ctvnews.ca)
LOL marvelous
Alberta distillery to stop making 4-litre vodka jugs after minister raises concern (edmonton.ctvnews.ca)
Young Canadians think retiring at 65 is an outdated concept (financialpost.com)
Canadians’ views on retirement are shifting dramatically, with the idea of retiring at age 65 being one of the early casualties. Read more.
Tim Hortons Is Brewing an Idea of Canada That No Longer Exists. (thewalrus.ca)
Grocery giants paid for friendly Liberal, Tory policy with decades of donations (breachmedia.ca)
Fourth man arrested and charged in killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar (www.cbc.ca)
Alberta intends to opt out of national pharmacare plan (globalnews.ca)
Alberta intends to opt out of the proposed national pharmacare plan.
Loblaws, Sobeys owners under investigation by Competition Bureau for alleged anti-competitive conduct (www.cbc.ca)
Canada’s Competition Bureau has launched investigations into the parent companies of grocery chains Loblaws and Sobeys for alleged anti-competitive conduct, court documents reveal, with Sobeys’ owner calling the inquiry “unlawful.”...
Small grocers, co-ops receiving boost from Loblaw boycott: ‘A lot of anger’ (globalnews.ca)
Canadians’ wages took major hit in 2022 amid high inflation rates: StatCan (globalnews.ca)
Feds announce $1.5b to expand affordable housing (www.theglobeandmail.com)
It’s good to see some kinda/sorta/almost direct spending on affordable housing being announced:...
Doug Ford's change to booze sales could cost far more than $225M (www.cbc.ca)
Premier Doug Ford’s push to get beer and wine into convenience stores ahead of schedule will cost Ontario taxpayers at least $225 million, but there’s evidence the full price tag actually adds up to hundreds of millions more....
Fort McMurray residents told to be ready to evacuate on short notice due to wildfire threat (www.cbc.ca)
Here we go again. Good luck and stay safe McMurray.
Maple Leafs fire Keefe after first-round playoff exit (theathletic.com)
Keefe on Thursday, five days after they were eliminated from the playoffs....
B.C. judge warns of 'tsunami' of Indigenous identity fraud cases (www.cbc.ca)
After he was charged with possessing child pornography, Nathan Allen Joseph Legault discovered a figure from his past he hoped might help with his future....