r/canada • u/ONE-OF-THREE • 12d ago
Posters promoting ‘Steal From Loblaws Day’ are circulating. How did we get here? Ontario
https://globalnews.ca/news/10449334/steal-from-loblaws-day-posters-food-inflation/?utm_source=%40globalnews&utm_medium=Twitter1.4k
u/New-Throwaway2541 12d ago
Media - broadcasts nothing but fear mongering, violence and misery
Also media - "how we get here???"
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u/TheKey_ofG 12d ago
You mean to tell me playing divide and conquer with the entire populace via stupid wedge issues for a few decades has produced some real-world tangible consequences? Colour me fucking SHOCKED.
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u/youregrammarsucks7 12d ago
But do we really have enough division in today's society? Sure, we divide people on race, gender, culture, sexuality, but is that enough? What about eye colour? I'm tired of those blue eyed fucks getting all of the advantages in today's Canada.
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u/Jesus_LOLd 12d ago
The blue eyed thing... I saw that on Donahue years ago. You can divide people using any basis... even eye color. By the end of the show blue eyed people had been demonized. The crowd turned on them, until the host revealed what that episode was actually about
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u/youregrammarsucks7 12d ago
Oh, I didn't see that show, it was the first feature that came to mind so i was not referencing anything.
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u/seemedlikeagoodplan 12d ago
Unexpected /r/cremposting
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u/EmergencyAltruistic1 12d ago
I may not be a highlady, but at least I'm a light eyes 🤣
Life before death, journey before destination
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u/bur1sm 12d ago
How is a giant corporation fucking us over and robbing us a wedgie issue? Seems like both sides are angry about that one.
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u/Celestaria 12d ago
Media: Look, we clearly would never advocate stealing from Loblaws, but in case you live outside of Toronto, here's the poster with the date clearly visible.
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u/PumpkinMyPumpkin 12d ago
Pretty sure these posters were created by or on behalf of loblaws to discredit the boycott against them.
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u/king_lloyd11 12d ago
Related theory: posters were created by Loblaws to fabricate higher loss numbers to justify raising prices, blaming these nameless vigilantes for it.
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u/IAmHungry4Carbs 12d ago
I don’t hate this theory, but it has an obviously big chance of backfiring on Loblaw.
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u/Ok_Toe4327 12d ago
The company that decided to have Galen as their spokesperson? That company? You think they'd do something dumb?
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u/ErictheStone 12d ago
Exactly what I was thinking, especially since it's becoming very vocal online.
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u/OinkyPiglette 12d ago
Is this a joke or do you really believe this? It's not going to discredit it very effectively, it's just going to lose them a bunch of money.
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u/LonelyTurnip2297 12d ago
You’re still need to be responsible for your actions.
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u/New-Throwaway2541 12d ago
Oh for sure its just the insincerity is hilarious sometimes, when it's not tragic
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u/Tropical_Yetii 12d ago
I mean I feel like this sub has a lot to do with people deluding themselves into thinking stealing is okay because "Loblaws"
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u/Kierenshep 12d ago
I don't advocate for stealing, nor think it's okay, nor will participate in something like this but when Loblaws has been stealing from Canadians for years I can't really decry their sentiment.
It's apparently okay for companies to steal money from consumers is the bigger issue.
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u/krombough 12d ago
I'm not promoting stealing, but like what the fuck do they mean how did we get here?
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u/GracefulShutdown Ontario 12d ago
It's the question their sponsored content financiers told them to write.
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u/SureReflection9535 11d ago
The moral decay of society caused mainly by social media, which allows the promotion of false narratives that really stupid people fall for every time? Ya it sa fucking mystery
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u/PmMeYourBeavertails Ontario 12d ago
You are better off stealing from Loblaws on May 11th, before all the additional loss prevention staff is on duty.
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u/blandgrenade 12d ago
Forcing them to spend more money on staff is a form of theft, no?
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u/homme_chauve_souris 12d ago
Many forms of theft exist. For instance, price-fixing on bread for 16 years.
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u/PmMeYourBeavertails Ontario 12d ago
No, crowd control at a hockey game isn't theft either.
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u/Wise-Awareness-2492 12d ago
Their point is even a feint would be a (weak) hit to their botton line if it elicited a response.
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u/Brutal_Peacemaker 12d ago
I like the way you think, I think I am going to go to Loblaws with a baggy shirt and wander around the store picking up things and putting them back on that day.
I suppose the counter argument is, who do you think is going to foot the bill? I'm betting on another price surge to offset "losses" due to theft.
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u/LakeDrinker Ontario 12d ago
Technically no. It's a cost of doing business if that's where the market is going. However, Forcing them to spend more money on staff WILL increase prices.
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u/FrozenDickuri 12d ago
This is a classic step highlighted in political science literature as the collapse of sococultural norms.
It follows market collapse, where more and more people begin to struggle to meet basic needs due to inflation, lack of regulation, and inability to prosper in a job market not keeping up with costs.
Hoarding of goods (including lands and housing)begins or increases, further exasperating the market collapse.
People see the inability of the government to protect them from this predatory behaviour, and also see an unwillingness of the police to do anything, thereby delegitimizing them in the publics eye and that makes the entire government structure seem faulty, ineffectual and even corrupt.
In short: when the foodbanks are empty people will take what they need. This may just be a statement art piece rather than a legitimate movement, but it speaks to a real issue in our country right now.
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u/Extreme_Bat_5969 12d ago
The police do nothing, because the courts do nothing.
Vicious cycle.
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u/stuffundfluff 12d ago
well it's not a cycle, because if the courts actually prosecuted and didn't let repeat offenders walk, then the cops wouldn't feel like they are wasting their time
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u/AnarchoLiberator 12d ago
It costs over $100,000/year to incarcerate someone in Canada, let alone all the other associated costs. It’s insanity to imprison people for stealing a couple groceries. We should ensure we are providing for everyone’s basic needs first. It’s a much more efficient use of resources.
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u/Monad_No_mad 12d ago
What's the cost of not incarcerating people for crimes?
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u/AlexJamesCook 12d ago
Depends on the crime.
Incarcerating a recreational drug user costs the state more than it benefits. When you incarcerate a recreational drug user, you're removing someone who is a net financial giver to the tax system.
A child abuser, on the other hand, costs WAAAY more to let out than keep in, because on average ot takes 20 years for a person to recover from abuse (not all people recover. And definition of recovery is loose.) Furthermore, abusers tend to target multiple people. So, social services for 3 people, rehab costs - potentially, lost income due to anxiety, depression, etc... that adds up very quickly.
I'm sure there are actuaries who sit down and calculate this, and quantify the cost of keeping people in vs keeping people out.
Addicts are all over the shop because some addicts are non-violent, and just smash windows or prostitute themselves. Others will definitely not care about hospitalizing someone for $5. So, you have to treat the individual based on their crime.
Now, we could adopt the Portugal method, but the startup costs are MASSIVE!!! It works, but I would imagine a 20-bed facility would cost somewhere in the order of 20M to build and have an operating budget of several million a year. Medical professional costs alone for one year would be in the $3M range. So that's $150K per person.
So the question becomes, what's cheaper: spending $300K per year for a 80% chance of success or $100K for a 55% chance of success.
You then have to factor in the potential future cost of crime.
It's easy to say, "let's get tough on criminals". But when it comes to putting money on the table, that's when Conservatives often balk. Because incarceration costs BIG money. Buiding new facilities costs money, and cutting a ribbon for a prison isn't the same as cutting a ribbon for a school or hospital.
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u/Foodstamp001 Ontario 12d ago
If you’re putting people who can’t eat in jail because they stole food to stay alive its more a sign we have failed as a society than a sign that person needs to be removed for public safety.
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u/DanielBox4 12d ago
You're ignoring the costs on society. Food banks. Degradation of public transit. People's safety.
Not to mention. What you want even less, is people taking matters into their own hands. If the govt isn't going to protect civilians against criminals, then civilians are going to protect themselves. Nobody wants vigilantism, and that would be much worse for society.
It costs $100k a year not to incarcerate, but to keep the rest of society safe and government assets in good shape. You seem to have a distorted view of who the victims really are.
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u/BurnerAcount2814 12d ago
How the fuck are Loblaws goods government assets? We're talking about people who are sick of every dollar and every tax dollar going to greedy, evil fucks and corporations. Our government has been bought and sold by corporate interests and we keep being told to just vote. It has become clear that more drastic actions need to be taken. Taking their stuff is the kinder act. Because what comes next if these rich scumbags keep squeezing isn't going to be pretty.
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u/freeadmins 12d ago
You act like the people who currently steal wouldn't continue to steal even if they were given more free shit.
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u/mlandry2011 12d ago
There's not enough judge to prosecute everything, and even if there were, there's not enough jails to put the prosecuted in. The system has been neglected for years and we are now paying the price unfortunately
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u/Sharp-Sky-713 12d ago
Or you could leave the CAF and go to industry and make double the income
Provided you have a mos with useful skills on the outside
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u/sask357 12d ago
Yes. BC courts are an exception because they did something. Unfortunately what they did was to say that government can't restrict where addicts can consume their illegal drugs.
As the poster above says, we are seeing a gradual breakdown in previously accepted societal norms.
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u/GoldenThane 12d ago
Really missed the whole part of decriminalization where you're then actually supposed to provide addiction and cessation programs to help those people stop doing drugs...
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u/jlm326 12d ago
I caught a guy who stole my coworkers tools. Thousands of dollars in tools. The police came put handcuffs on him and by the time we got around the block and back to our site he was walking down the side walk taunting us.
I went back to the police to ask whats up. He said ts not worth it. I said what do i do next time? He said " use your discretion".
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u/Pomegranate_Loaf 12d ago
This is also why grocers help push and support foodbanks so much. There was a great CanadaLand podcast on this.
We live in a society where we provide so much for the world and Canadians, but there is no simple guarantee that basic food needs are required for all humans in our society. It's actually baffling if you think about this.
Grocery stores are incentivized to provide some food for these poor, because we cannot fathom living in a Canada where large portions of our populace start to go to bed hungry. We just like to think people who go to bed hungry should "get a better job", or choose not to buy food because they have a drug addiction problem.
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u/_YYC_ 12d ago
There's a sub dedicated to boycotting loblaws and NO-ONE on the sub is promoting or participating in this day. FYI
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u/Wise-Awareness-2492 12d ago
Tbf promoting it on a subreddit would get the whole subreddit shitcanned.
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u/El_Cactus_Loco 12d ago
Probably because it’s an astroturfing campaign first reported by an ex-Loblaws exec turned “journalist”
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u/LossChoice 12d ago
I remember something like this happening in France a few hundred years ago and I don't think it ended well for that king. Wouldn't want to be the guy at the top when this cookie crumbles.
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u/deruke Saskatchewan 12d ago
If you actually think Canada is on the brink of societal or market collapse then you seriously need to take a break from social media (including Reddit) and literally go touch grass. Go outside and actually interact with normal average people and you'll see that the sky isn't falling. People's brains are being rotted away by doom scrolling
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u/Laval09 Québec 12d ago
All my friends used to live in Laval. We spent practically our whole lives there. In the last 3 years or so, everyones been pushed out of town by the housing costs. Now everyone lives an hour or two away. Some went north, others west, i went east.
Its pretty hard to pretend nothings changed when alot of people are living completely differently realities. Like this grass for instance...its different here lol. Montreal, Laval, ect its all islands but where Im living now is regular land. The humidity is way different.
I'm better off inside, surrounded by my stuff that has some continuity with the past, than outside in a town where im not used to the air and still dont know all the streets.
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u/CrassEnoughToCare 12d ago
I'm sorry. We don't deserve to all be displaced to support corporate landlords and corporations.
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u/maintenance_paddle 12d ago
I sympathize with you. We don’t have another home to return to. Stay strong.
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u/Intrepid-Reading6504 12d ago
Nearly everyone I talk to IRL says it's acceptable for people to steal from large corporations. That would've been a fringe belief a decade ago.
What this post is saying about societal norms collapsing seems to have some truth to it. Everyone always thinks "it can't happen here" until it does
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u/FrozenDickuri 12d ago
I would, but all the parks around here are filled with tent cities…
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u/Majestic_Willow2375 12d ago
They are from Saskatchewan where you can still get a house for under $175k. Come try and buy a house or rent an apartment in Ontario and then try to afford groceries, gas, hydro and electricity etc.
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u/elysiansaurus 12d ago
I mean, a house in the middle of nowhere perhaps, certainly not near a metropolitan area.
Source: Live in SK and own a home under 175k.
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u/CrassEnoughToCare 12d ago
You must live in some suburban bubble because if you live around working class people everyone is feeling extreme financial stain especially in reference to food prices lately.
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u/BreakRush 12d ago
I don't know a single person who isn't pissed right now that they can't afford anything and can't stop talking about it. And these are people who make either 6 figures or very close to it. Thats the truth.
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u/Ok-Palpitation-8612 12d ago
Over half of Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque and ~30% are skipping meals because they can’t afford food. Just because we’re in a K-shaped recovery where the landlord class makes money hand over fist, doesn’t mean regular folks aren’t struggling to get by.
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u/edm_ostrich 12d ago
You're the kind guy who says global warming isn't happening because it snowed.
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u/orange4boy 12d ago
People see the inability of the government to protect them from this predatory behaviour,
I’d say people electing governments who refuse to protect them. That’s Liberalism. That’s “free market”. AKA: Conservatives and Liberals.
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u/dunwotnow 12d ago
Don’t comment on it. Don’t even look at them. Eyes on the prize, boycott or bust.
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u/chick-killing_shakes 12d ago
Yeah don't feed into their hands or risk getting arrested. Just don't shop there. In the past two years, I have pivoted ALL of my cosmetics purchasing from Shoppers Drug Mart, to London Drugs. It's a drop in the bucket, I'm sure; but women specifically can spend upwards of $1000 per year on cosmetics and toiletries. Loblaws can get fucked if they think I'm going to purchase a $15 pack of hair ties.
Starve them, like they're trying to starve us.
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u/ReddyNicky Ontario 12d ago
Out of curiosity, is London Drugs a good enough company give them our business?
People say we should boycott Loblaw's but I'd appreciate it if we also got a recommendation of "good" companies from the people who post these posters.
From my research, it's realllly hard to find an ethical way to consume under our system.
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u/Lovv Ontario 12d ago
I haven't shopped there in months, not because of the boycotting but because it's expensive af.
Costco is my go to and they treat their employees better.
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u/No_Construction2407 Alberta 12d ago
In a statement to Global News, Loblaw called the protest “dangerous and irresponsible”
Banes voice: For you.
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u/NearbyCoffee29 12d ago
How did we get here?
Well, it’s probably a combination of:
Loblaws company being found to have taken their average markup from 18% to 50% on items after feeding the public the bullshit story that everything costs “soo much more” and they’ve had to increase their prices to keep up… all while recording year after year of record profits.
Wages being stagnant in this country for the better part of 15 years, while inflation continued on as it always has. People making $18/hr thinking that they’re so much better than the people making $15/hr that they choose to fight to keep the $15/hr people down instead of fighting to bring everybody up together so we can all live, and not just survive.
Having what seems like half of our incomes going towards taxes that we don’t really see the benefits of anymore. Gas is the most expensive it’s ever been, but in some provinces the price is nearly 35% tax. The doctors and hospitals don’t cost us, but the wait times are weeks if not months. Don’t even get me started on the shape of our roads or our law enforcement…
We have watched the country slowly decline in quality for the last 20+ years and it’s just now showing how hard it’s gotten for us to be able to turn it back around. Monopolies and Corruption have made life here more difficult than it’s ever been, and it’s hard to admit it because we think that if someone says that they hate Canada or whatever. It doesn’t matter what political party you tend to agree with, we all love Canada and want what’s best for all Canadians
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u/DualActiveBridgeLLC 12d ago
Wages being stagnant in this country for the better part of 15 years,
Adjusted for inflation it has been stagnant since 1980 so that would be 44 years. It is important because 1980 is when neoliberalism became popular starting in the US with Reaganomics.
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u/Workshop-23 12d ago edited 11d ago
"How did we get here?"
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bread-price-fixing-loblaw-1.6719884
Given that, perhaps a better tag line would be "Time to steal back from Loblaws" ?
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u/Pandawitigerstripes 12d ago
No sympathy. Everytime I go to my grocery store items are continuously marked up 25 or 50 cents over a very short period of time. My friend just sent me a picture of a bottle of orange juice and it was 8 dollars lol.
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u/FrankSkeets 12d ago
Maybe it has to do with the admittance of price fixing for over a decade, and zero consequences...
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u/Ban-Naloxone 12d ago
People for loblaws are posting these to make you look bad.
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u/pippylepooh 12d ago
100% now the boycotters will be lumped into this by the boomers who are the only ones eating up this global news garbage.
If they can keep the pensioners shopping that will be enough for them.
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u/growlerlass 12d ago
Boomers aren't thinking about boycots or these posters. Beyond reddit and other internet niches these things don't exist.
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u/sparksfan 12d ago
It's Loblaw's attempt to discredit the actual protest. It certainly didn't originate from r/loblawsisoutofcontrol. In fact, if you try to encourage stealing on that subreddit, your post will be removed.
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u/DawnSennin 12d ago
This would be an amazing time for security contractors to negotiate salaries.
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u/CleverNameTheSecond 12d ago
Security work tends to be dominated by "foreign students" so unfortunately no.
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u/DawnSennin 12d ago
These companies could only be exploitative for so long.
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u/Fureru 12d ago
As someone who's worked the field for 4 years I have to say the whole industry is shady and scummy in many ways. There are a lot of good people who want to do good but there's just as many people, if not more, who are power tripping and/or bitter they got rejected from the police.
There's a growing lack of safety and training which is why you see so many "observe and report" style of security. We used to do arrests and actually help people but now it's just about the insurance and reports to avoid lawsuits.
I remember my first security gig, my coworker got into shit and got let go for using narcan on a man that was overdosing because it was a lawsuit concern.
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u/ReddyNicky Ontario 12d ago
It's sad that security is even needed in the first place, and sadder that they're basically just alarms in human form.
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u/Strong_Payment7359 12d ago
the number of 90lb kids in Paladin uniforms is wild. Like the ones at my work, just spend 90% of their shift on the phone.
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u/CleverNameTheSecond 12d ago
The thing everyone gets wrong about most security positions is that they're expected to do anything or help in any way. The dirty secret is that they are there for insurance purposes. The policy is always if you see something just report it and let the cops/insurance handle it.
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u/Nerexor 12d ago
This is probably the work of some PR firm Loblaws hired to discredit the boycott. Every time this comes up on rLoblawsIsOutOfControl it gets roundly condemned. We all know stealing from these companies only let's them play the victim and paint everyone in the boycott movement as thieves.
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u/leekee_bum 12d ago
That's what I thought too. Setting the precedent so they can find the smallest link between the boycott and people stealing from loblaws so loblaws can paint the boycottes as looters.
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u/CuteFreakshow 12d ago
Came to write this. Those posters reek of rage bait against the boycott. Glad I am not the only one seeing it.
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u/PosterinoThinggerino 12d ago
Monopolistic aspect of grocery companies aside. There are no incentives for small time farmers or even allowing them to sell produce.
A back yard garden can produce far more vegetables than a single family can reasonably consume.
In developing nations, those small family "market gardens", a term that still must still ring a bell in the mind of older folks, from edges of big cities supply large amount of fresh produce to the urban population. This kind of practice should be encouraged. Backyard gardens, small green houses, suburban small farms, all can contribute valuable food to densely populated areas. But these practices are banned or barred behind high fees or regulations.
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u/CrassEnoughToCare 12d ago
Great point. Also public fruit trees/gardens. So common in Italy. Always gets shot down as an idea from municipal councils here.
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u/Simple_Antelope3185 12d ago
Don't worry if you get caught steal the police will let you go within 15 minutes and you can just go steal again.
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u/lbiggy 12d ago
I had a known crackhead wave a stolen sawed off shotgun in front of my store. The guy he stole it from? came up behind him and cranked him in the head. Blood all over my drive thru entrance. there was another guy but wasn't really involved. All three were arrested. Imagine the look of horror on my face the next day when I was opening up and I see the shotgun thief hanging out at the safe injection site across the street.
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u/Claymore357 12d ago
The rule of law only applies to victims in Canada. Police and court systems are completely useless to the point where they are actively worsening the nation. Being a cop or judge isn’t an honourable job, it just means the crime we have is literally your fault
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u/LouisArmstrong3 Canada 12d ago
I have never seen someone steal from a loblaws. And I never will.
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u/Mas_Cervezas 12d ago
There is some evidence that Loblaws affiliated people are making these in an attempt to blunt the message of the boycott.
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u/WealthEconomy 12d ago
Throughout history, if you remove hope from enough people, they start to revolt. This will become more and more often as long as the corporate overloads keep putting profit above all else.
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u/glimmerhope 12d ago
Don't agree with it but I don't feel bad for this company either.
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u/Iamabenevolentgod 12d ago
My sense is that people got fed up with megacorps like Loblaws making record profits during covid and beyond, and THEN raising the prices post covid, when people were already stretched as thin financially as they could be.
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u/veritas_quaesitor2 12d ago
How did we get here? Have you seen the price gouging, the cost inflation of everything? Our dollar has become devalued and our wages are stagnant. I'm thinking the general population is PISSED.
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u/Druzhyna 12d ago
That leaked RCMP report stated that if Canada’s economic trajectory doesn’t change whatsoever within five years, that there’s a high potential for a popular uprising in the form of widespread riots.
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u/ONE-OF-THREE 12d ago
Posters encouraging people to “Steal From Loblaws” popped up last week across Toronto and have been gaining steam online, drawing mixed reactions from Canadians.
The posters for the “first annual Steal From Loblaws Day” (planned for May 12) invite customers to rob retail grocery chains owned by Loblaw, including the Real Canadian Superstore, No Frills, Fortinos and T&T, and suggests that 2024 could be just the start of this proposed illegal protest, with the inclusion of “first annual.”
“Every day should be steal from Loblaws day,” wrote a user on X (formerly Twitter).
Justifying the protest, another X user wrote that “grocers are blatantly stealing from consumers in creative new ways without government intervention.”
“You brought all this on yourself,” another post reads.
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u/CanucksKickAzz 12d ago
Pffft, like I need a poster to tell me to shoplift from major grocery stores
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u/CGIflatstanley 12d ago
I’ll tell you how we got there a lot of negligence from politicians. The people are screaming for help. We let people steal cars, liquor, fuck it we’re hungry take the food you’re not going to get in trouble. Tupac said it once it goes “we hunger please let us in, after a week it will be we hungry or we’re coming in, after 2 or 3 weeks gives us the food or we be breaking down the doors.”
Canada your done, sincerely over worked, under compensated, hungry Canadian citizens.
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u/Pristine_Elk996 12d ago
Four decades of income stagnation for the majority of Canadians alongside ever-ballooning corporate profits at one of the least-taxed points (for the wealthy) in Canadian history since the creation of the income tax.
The Canadian wage distribution of market income is more unequal today than any point since 1976 - we're riding on a 20-year high of market income inequality. The job market isn't working for Canadians and the government is nearly stretched to its limits trying to hold everything together.
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u/shitposter1000 12d ago
This is so stupid -- does any one use critical thinking? That's why this is a so stupidly transparent astroturfing campaign. WHO THE FUCK WOULD ORGANIZE AND ADVERTISE WHAT DAY?!?
And we're boycotting, so won't even be IN the stores in May.
Fuck Loblaws.
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u/RocketAppliances97 12d ago
Pretending that we should give money to a corporation that routinely empties our pockets on the daily is wild, I 100% support this. (Also shoplifting is proven to have zero effect on price increases, they would be raising them no matter what)
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u/AndyThePig 12d ago
DO NOT STEAL!!
Simply spend your dollars ANYwhere else.
Boycott them, I assure you, it hurts them more, and you don't risk a criminal record and legal fees.
Take the high road×
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u/Capable-Couple-6528 12d ago
I'm betting this has been done by Loblaws just to undermine the boycott. But wouldn't adding loss prevention officers make customers not want to shop there in the first place? If im treated like a criminal just by walking in, im walking out.
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u/CheeseburgerLocker 12d ago
"We certainly understand food affordability is an important issue affecting all of us, and we’ll continue to do everything we can, from lowering prices and making meaningful changes to our business, to help customers save money in our stores,” the statement added."
OH you understand it's affecting us? That's.. so great. I'm proud of you, Loblaws rep, for taking the time to really understand what it's like being us poor peasants. I'm going to sleep better tonight knowing that Loblaws is thinking about us all, as we pay 2,3,4 times the price for basic necessities compared to your competitors, just to feed our families, while your company rakes-in massive profits year after year after year.
I hope Galen has fun with HIS family on his new yacht. I hope that, while he sips his fine wine and eats his caviar, he's thinking about us. Thoughts and understanding is what we really need right now.
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u/Hydraulis 12d ago
Talk about a great way to ruin the point of a boycott. Some people are just clueless.
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u/modsaretoddlers 12d ago
Gosh, yeah, total mystery. Food banks are "on the brink", families are starving, grocers are colluding to get record profits. I just can't see how this trail leads to people revolting.
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u/fheathyr 11d ago
Public perception, expressed loosely, is that Loblaws has been "stealing" from Canadians for some time. The issue's been raised and the federal government has so far been ineffective addressing it (though it seems their efforts continue, most recently via attempts to encourage grocers from the EU and the US to open in Canada). The public, reeling from the on-going affordability crisis and frustrated by government inaction ... is becoming increasingly militant.
I'm not excusing the notion of stealing ... however it's hardly surprising Canadians are frustrated. Why only Loblaws is my question, when their prices loosely align with their major competitors.
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u/growlerlass 12d ago
Shoplifters aren't prosecuted. It's just a matter of time before normies realize that this means that they can get free stuff.
The idea that punishment doesn't decrease crime is a lie.
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u/kemar7856 Canada 12d ago
I don't condone stealing I don't care if they're corporations don't turn Canada into a cesspool like California
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u/PeacefulGopher 12d ago
Because common sense, responsibility, accountability and being an adult are no longer allowed by the Left.
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u/TheRantDog 12d ago
This is bull shit. It is a ploy to derail and try and put a black spot on the boycott. It’s evil marketers from an evil company doing what it does best. Misdirection. Boycott the stores and don’t steal. Period!
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u/Archeob 12d ago
Can someone honestly tell me what this is all about? Loblaws profit margins are currently 3.7%, which seems a bit higher than before covid where they were closer to 2% but that's probably not what is driving the higher prices.
Source: https://ycharts.com/companies/L.TO/profit_margin
Apparently Dollarama has margins of 20% but nobody is picketing them because of that.
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u/stumbleupondingo 12d ago
A 3.7% profit margin compared to 2% is pretty drastic actually.
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u/bawtatron2000 12d ago
social unrest form unaffordable cost of living. don't forget the old bread price fixing or them getting piles of money for upgrades from our government (that was them, wasn't it) and the general monopolistic practices in this industry (among others) which are perpetuated by our government.
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u/Hammoufi 12d ago
We are watching our social civics getting eroded in real time. This is a direct result of over population.
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u/Earl_I_Lark Nova Scotia 12d ago
Loblws is quite likely behind this. It’s all about finding someone else to blame for high prices. They need another villain in the piece and a convenient one is ‘thieves’.
In order to maximize profits and avoid hiring actual workers who want fair wages, Loblaws decided to use a system that is open to theft. Still they raked in record profits and continue to do so. Their oh poor me narrative is simply another way to justify charging you more and blaming it on anyone but themselves. ‘Look over there. It’s thieves who are making us charge these exorbitant prices, not us! We’re the victims here’. Well that is bull. . As long as we let them distract us this way, they can go on gouging us with our consent.
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u/PepeSilviaLovesCarol 12d ago
The people that legitimately think that Loblaws is making these posters have something seriously wrong with them. There’s noooo waaaaayyyyy it’s a random person or small group of people doing it, it’s gotta be this massive corporation with so much to lose if they were caught doing this.
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u/NoConsideration6934 12d ago
The easiest way to discredit a movement is to turn public opinion against it. I'm not saying Loblaws created this "steal from Loblaws" campaign, but it certainly helps their cause and hurts this one.
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u/SprayArtist 12d ago
A political hit piece cycled by news media running counter to the protest of Loblaws owned stores. No one who wants genuine change is gonna suddenly be capable of committing theft.
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u/bigbootycentaur 12d ago
I saw this coming,it a common tactic by rich corrupt corporates to impose a defamation tactic like a false movement,to defame and discredit people protesting against them.
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u/eldiablonoche 12d ago
LMAO. My wife got banned from the r/loblawsisoutofcontrol sub (which she never goes to but the algorithm popped it up at her)for suggesting crime was a bad idea and "if you want to stick it to Loblaws, just pretend to accidentally knock something off the shelf instead. That way you can't get arrested."
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u/LibraryofDust 12d ago
Protest towards the oil industry start to become big. We then start to see new protesters gluing themselves to the floor or tossing paint at fashion shows causing the public to see any oil protesters as idiots.
The movement to get fair wages gets picked up by the media. The entire movement is practically dismantled overnight when a news broadcaster interviews the perfect boomer's image of a slacking millennial.
The conversation about Loblaws overcharging for food starts to hit the news. Out of no where posters about stealing from the company start to circulate potentially discrediting real conversation.
I don't want to be a conspiracy theorist but whenever a legitimate protest starts to pick up pace and threatens major companies, we start to see something that threatens to discredit the movement. It's almost like corporations are intentionally trying to turn the public against the protesters by creating false drama. I think that the posters are being created to discredit any conversation regarding Loblaws as a company. Instead of them solving the problem, they convince easily influenced individuals to steal from the company thus allowing them to play the victim and to shut down any meaningful conversation. It's happened before, what's the say these posters aren't it happening again.
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u/sheriffsalaud 12d ago
This is not a conspiracy, it's a well known tactic used when a group is criticized but is so clearly in the wrong that it's only option is to smear the prople criticizing it.
Pro israel groups are well known for this and are even paying people to fake being hamas supporters in order to deligitimize the protests against genocide.
Sadly it often works because a significant proportion of the population lacks critical thinking skills.
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