Canada Post could reduce food prices up north
MIKE PALACEK: With the largest logistics and retail network in the country, the Crown corporation could be leveraged to meet social needs
Rising food prices in the North have lately garnered attention, as pictures of basic goods with outrageous price tags make the rounds on social media.
Conservative MP Leona Aglukkaq angered many when she was seen reading a newspaper in Parliament while the opposition questioned her about residents in her own riding picking through the garbage dump to find food. Meanwhile, Stephen Harper’s Nutrition North program is a failure by every measure. Retailers are subsidized by the federal government, but they must arrange their own shipping. There is nothing to require business owners to keep the prices of staple foods low, and nothing to prevent them from simply pocketing the subsidy and raising prices.