A food economist’s case against public grocery stores

Cheryl Sutherland· Host0:00

[ding] Grocery prices are still high, meaning Canadians are feeling the pinch, and politicians know it. [upbeat music] This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney's government unveiled the spring economic update. In it were some already announced measures aimed to make groceries more affordable. This includes the 25% increase for the next five years to the GST credit, as well as providing money to address food security and affordability in the North. But some other politicians are floating another idea, public grocery stores. New York City's mayor, Zohran Mamdani, made headlines when he announced his plans to implement five public grocery stores. And in Canada, federal NDP leader, Avi Lewis, has also been talking about establishing a network of public grocery stores across this country. And some municipalities here, like Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver, are also considering the concept. Proponents of the idea say that public grocery stores could help lower food prices and give consumers another option. Today, Mike von Massow is back on the show. He's a food economist at the University of Guelph. He'll be stress-testing the idea of public grocery stores in Canada and whether he thinks they could actually work. I'm Cheryl Sutherland, and this is The Decibel