ACORN actions across Canada to call for an end to grocer greed

Canadians are struggling to get by during the worsening affordability crisis, while Canada’s major grocery chains are recording record profits. ACORN Canada is calling on the Federal Government to tax excessive profits made by grocery chains and place a cap on the price of essential food items. On Saturday, February 10th, over 100 ACORN members in nine cities across the country gathered to demand that big grocery chains stop price-gouging hardworking Canadians.

Send a letter to the Prime Minister, Finance Minister and your local MP. Join ACORN’s online action here

Calgary
25 Calgary ACORN members rallied outside the Safeway grocery chain on February 10th for ACORN’s national day of action to end grocery store price gouging! ACORN delivered demands to Safeway management to 1. Tax excessive grocery store profits and 2. Place a price cap on essential food items. Many Safeway shoppers stopped by to chat, and overwhelmingly supported ACORN’s petition to stop price gouging!

London
Outside the Valu-Mart near one of the busiest intersections in the city, over 20 London ACORN members rallied against the price gouging happening in grocery stores across the country. With overwhelming support from passers-by and honking from passing cars, ACORN members spoke in defiance of the monopoly companies like Loblaws hold over essential food items, and shared personal experiences with struggling to afford food. Store management hovered nearby, clearly uncertain with how to handle the group as we marched to the entrance to deliver a demand letter. They wouldn’t let us enter but a manager received the letter at the door. Members then split up to petition the nearby area and collected a whopping 130+ signatures (wow!) from people who support ACORN Canada’s demands for the Federal government to take action against grocery gouging.

Kitchener/Waterloo

For ACORN Canada’s Nationwide Day of Action Against Grocery Gouging, Waterloo Region ACORN members came together outside the Sobeys at 94 Bridgeport Rd E to speak out against the skyrocketing food prices people are experiencing across the country. With loads of support from passers-by and honking from passing cars, ACORN members spoke in defiance of the monopoly companies like Sobeys hold over essential food items, and the harm this causes to low-income families. Sobeys was so worried about us, they ordered their security to remove us before we could even deliver a demand letter! (They’re too scared to take us head-on!) So instead, members took to the streets to continue flyering the surrounding area, with CTV and the Community Edition on the scene to catch the action!

Ottawa

What a day! ACORN’s National Day of Action was a huge win! In Ottawa, 30 ACORN members made some noise in front of the Vanier Loblaws against food price gouging and grocery greed, demanding fairness in our food systems. CBC and Canada-Radio took notice of our powerful stance. And on top of that, we hit the streets, petitioning and flyering to recruit more people to fight back because we’re not backing down! After petitioning and flyering, we marched into the Loblaws to meet with the manager and they agreed to take ACORN’s letter of demands and send it. It’s time for the federal government to tax those greedy grocery chains’ excessive profits and set a cap on essential food items.

Toronto (Jane & Finch)

ACORN members from Toronto’s Weston and Jane & Finch communities rallied at the Jane & Finch Mall to lay out their demand for the federal government: action now! They marched to the local FreshCo to deliver a letter to Empire Co. Ltd.’s CEO & President Michael Medline demanding action to ensure food security for working-class people, before marching over to the nearby Shoppers’ Drug Mart to mail ACORN’s demands to Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. Members took interviews with CTV National reporters, and throughout the sunny afternoon, ACORN’s chants could be heard around the neighbourhood:

“Stop the war on the poor! Make the rich pay! We’re tired, we’re hungry, and we won’t go away!”

Toronto (Downtown)

15 ACORN members gathered in Downtown Toronto. We chanted, marched, entered Metro, and delivered a letter to the manager who claimed he would send it to Metro’s head office! Then, we marched over to Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister MP Chrystia Freeland’s office. We delivered our letter of demands and 10+ individual testimonies. Humber Etc. and CityNews covered the action.

Halifax 

Outside Atlantic Superstore, 20 of the best NS ACORN has to offer came out to the Stop the Grocery Gouge day of action at Atlantic Superstore. ACORN made it VERY CLEAR that the greed of the grocery giants needs to be met with stronger regulations that ensure we all can access affordable and healthy food. Public support was overwhelming – people stopped to sign our petition, honked their horns, and cheered us along. We may even be featured on CTV Atlantic later on tonight.

Moncton
A dozen of Moncton finest working class activists descended upon the Empire Foods owned Sobeys on Main st to do their part in launching ACORN’s Stop the Grocery Gouge campaign. Nikke Kennedy acted as the francophone lead for the action while NB ACORN Co-Chair Peter Jongeleelen led the rest. Empire Foods is hearing loud and clear – we want an end to giant grocer greed!

Fredericton
A superb group of ACORN members were met by the police as they showed up to protest at an Atlantic Superstore in Fredericton. The police whispered support in leader Nichola Taylor’s ear, while preventing us from delivering our demand letter for Gaelen Weston to the store manager. Rally goers hooted and hollered chants, and were able to deliver the letter to an employee of the store. Nothing stops NB ACORN!

British Columbia
ACORN members from across the Lower Mainland came out to a Superstore in Guildford to send a message to Galen Weston and the Feds, Stop the Grocery Gouge! Superstore staff were not too pleased to have a visit from ACORN, but despite pushback and repeated attempts to get us to remove our signs, we continued petitioning, flyering and talking with shoppers about getting organized. We got overwhelming support from passersby, with several people pausing their plans to shop to join the action. We passed out more than 300 flyers to people interested in sending a message to the Federal government and their MP to take action to stop grocery giants from making record profits off of their record food prices.

Hamilton

Over 40 ACORN members and allies held a rally outside of the FreshCo at Queenston Rd / Nash Rd to demand the government take action against greedy grocery giants. The action was led by East End Chair Stew Klazinga and member Kayla Leet with speeches from East End member Ocean Datiao and downtown member Janicka Glasova on their own experience with high grocery prices. We were joined by our union allies Hamilton and District Labour Council, PSAC, CUPE 3369, CUPE 7800, USW 1005 and community ally Communist Party Hamilton. After speeches, members led a march to the front of the store for closing remarks and chants.