Writer's Bloc
The Halloween candy crunch of 2024
As Halloween season creeps in, many Canadians have already stocked up on candy for trick-or-treaters. With the cost of just about everything going up, you might...
Opinion: B.C. election housing platforms share a common thread—using public funds to address affordability
Housing is arguably the main public issue as the 2024 B.C. provincial election race heats up. What do we want? Affordable housing. When do we want it? Now. The...
Pandemic preparedness bill a threat to Canada’s agri-food sector
It is almost inconceivable that Bill C-293 remains largely unknown among Canadians, given its potential to significantly expand governmental powers in response...
Renewing B.C.'s approach to natural resources can support shared economic prosperity
Picture a B.C. where we no longer harness the power of water to generate clean electricity, a B.C. where the backcountry is off-limits—no fishing,...
Feds' inaction weaponizes Canada's food supply chain
The strike at Vancouver’s seven grain terminals, which began on Sept. 24, has now entered a critical phase, with significant implications for...
Rob Shaw: On housing affordability, B.C. Conservatives and NDP offer two very different solutions
The “Rustad Rebate” versus the Eby 60/40 mortgage split. B.C. voters were presented two hugely different proposals on housing affordability in the...
Recent statistics show Canadian alcohol consumption is dropping
Canada is experiencing a notable shift in its alcohol consumption patterns. Quebec’s SAQ is the latest liquor authority to report a consecutive decline in...
LaPointe: Trudeau’s leadership survives as Singh severs ties
Anyone who wagered that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would step down before the next election can pay up today. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is yours to thank....
Justin Trudeau tops list of Canada's worst prime ministers, says new poll
Timing is everything in politics. If New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton had not emerged as the clear winner of the 2011 federal leaders’...
Opinion: Time for Kevin Falcon to bid adieu and become B.C.'s Biden
Will the real Kevin Falcon please . . .sit down? That’s the Kevin Falcon who said he wanted nothing more than to see the BC NDP defeated. That’s...
$500 million settlement in bread price-fixing scandal is outrageous
The $500 million settlement in the bread price-fixing scandal sounds huge, right? But dig deeper, and it’s clear that it’s far from enough The bread...
Time for Canadian leaders to prep for Trump 2.0
Suddenly, the disruptor has been disrupted. Sunday’s decision by U.S. President Joe Biden to withdraw from the race, endorsing and leaving Vice-President...
50 years of barcodes, the stripes that revolutionized food traceability
Barcodes, those ubiquitous stripes we encounter daily at checkout counters, are far more than mere patterns, they are pillars of modern food distribution and...
Canada’s Competition Bureau finally takes a stand on food pricing
The recent move by Canada’s Competition Bureau to investigate the parent companies of grocery giants Loblaws and Sobeys marks a significant step in...
Want lower food prices? Be careful what you wish for
Many Canadians understandably desire lower food prices. However, what often goes unnoticed are the long-term consequences of such reductions. These lower prices...
The hidden cost of food inflation—compromising safety for affordability
The intersection of rising food costs and consumer health safety is emerging as a critical issue in today’s economy. Recent research from Dalhousie...
The high cost of living affecting Canadians’ ability to access healthy food
Canada appears to be a “trading-down” market, a trend that may persist for some time. Recent data from Statistics Canada on the food retail and...
Can Canada finally fix its shameful school-food gap?
When you want to feed hungry children in this country, you realize Canada isn’t built well for it. We will find out how in the next months. For five...
Use of GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic surging among Canadians
Canadians’ use of GLP-1 drugs is reshaping the food industry The rise of GLP-1 drugs, as exemplified by the widespread usage of medications like Ozempic,...
Decoding discrepancies in Canada's food price data
There are different ways to monitor food prices and inflation. However, when evaluating the accuracy of our federal agency tasked with measuring food price...