Standing on my soapbox Saturday

oops - meant to post this much earlier - pretend it's Saturday K?


Hi everyone - you didn't think I could skip a  week without going on about something did ya?

John does the groceries.  I was banned years and years ago, when grocery stores starting becoming mega stores actually - and I would walk around with my cart - cramming pillows and candles and dishes and decorations of every color and size into it - and John would get the actual food and we would meet at the cash - where he would promptly have a conniption fit on the spot....................

con·nip·tion  (k-npshn)

n. Informal

A fit of violent emotion, such as anger or panic. Also called conniption fit.

He was right and I was wrong ( one of the very rare incidents where I'll actually admit that by the way ) 

and so off he goes with a list in hand and he comes back with ONLY what's on that list....................

( if we need toilet paper - and I didn't write it down - he will NOT come back with toilet paper ) 

And I'm quite content with the arrangement - as long as I'm allowed to go to a market where I can actually hold

a piece of fruit in my hand - and so far Markets are tolerated ( even though I buy tons of flowers every time )

Ok - all this is just to let you know that I haven't been in a grocery store in ages.....................so you can imagine my horror when I saw this article in a newspaper....................

Contrary to the myth, living in the North doesn’t guarantee high wages. Inuit living in the territories make far less than non-Aboriginals in the same region — about $43,378 less. Within Inuit Nunangat, the traditional Inuit homeland, non-Aboriginals made an average of $50,128 according to 2005 Statistics Canada numbers. For Inuit, it was only $16,669.

For many that means living pay cheque to pay cheque, or in some cases welfare cheque to welfare cheque. And with grocery prices what they are, feeding one’s family comes before paying the bills, if a family can afford to eat at all.

Nunavut also has Canada’s youngest population with an average age of 24. Much of the population is too young to not wear diapers, let alone contribute to family income.

Admittedly I know very little about the Nunavut ( which is shameful unto itself really ) They live in the vast wilderness of Northern Canada - and we " southeners "  go on about our daily lives bitching and complaining about the high rising costs of just about everything.  BUT even I know that the Nanuvet ( we used to call them Eskimos and all I basically knew about them was that they kissed with their noses - probably b.s. but that's what we were told when we were kids  ) are natives to this land - meaning This land is your land - This land is my land - This land was THEIR LAND FIRST !!!  They are North American Natives - and when I see things like this I am truly disgusted with our behaviour.  If you are drinking hot coffee while reading this - pls put it down - I cannot be held responsible for you burning yourself.
On a typical Saturday morning shopping trip to the grocery store........................ 

a head of cabbage - I'm guessing they don't have cabbage rolls in them there parts too often

or stuffed green peppers - 10.25
red peppers would be caviar  16.89

8.15 for a small head of cauliflower - please note the word " SMALL " what would they charge for a large one? by the way a very large one was on sale this week for 99 cents here in my neighbourhood
( which is one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Canada - can you spell I.R.O.N.I.C. )

I wouldn't imagine they eat much fruit 13.08

a small jar of jam -
I'd spread whale fat on my toast before spending this kind of money

we can get a 30 pound turkey for this price -

probably 10 pieces of frozen chicken strips 37.59

small jar of peanut butter  17.59

short bread cookies anyone?
AND that's a generic brand!!!

don't know about the States - but here in Canada this product is advertised as
" Cheez Whiz adds Personality "
at 20.29 it would flush any personality I might have right down the toilet

really?
I mean really?
one of the fundamentals?
really?

and while beating your clothes against rocks in rivers might be a viable alternate solution anywhere else in the world - they can't do that - their rivers are frozen for much of the year...........................47.49

no kids sorry - I can't put juice in your lunch boxes -  at14.29 and 13.59 we'll stick with water

on second thought

maybe we'd better stick with juice

Dear God - 24 bottles of............................WATER 104.99
that's almost 4.50 a bottle
We pay that for 48 bottles

12 tins............................almost 7.00 a tin
Remind me to NEVER complain about the cost of coffee in Paris

Pogos?
Ok, c'mon now - reality check please?
Are you freaking kidding me?

And this next photo struck a chord deep down inside me - made me want to weep - hang my head in shame - write a letter to the government - scream in outrage - or rant on my blog...................

BABY FORMULA - notice the name Good Start?


Why are they being charged these outrageous prices you may ask?

“Most of the price is related to the cost of doing business in Northern Canada,” says Michael McMullen, Northwest’s executive vice president of Northern Canada retail.

He compares running a Giant Tiger in Winnipeg, where Northwest is based, to the Northern grocery store in Arviat, NU, just over the border from Manitoba. Transportation costs alone run $2.2 million for the year to keep the Arviat store stocked, compared to $198,000 at the local Winnipeg store.

Northern communities also require more space to store large sealift shipments and more overhead to pay for these large shipments.

“In most cases in remote communities, we would need to carry ten times the inventory to do the same level of business as in the south,” says McMullen.

McMullen says the Nutrition North program, which subsidizes healthy food sold by Northwest, has reduced food costs by 15 per cent.

Those savings only apply to items that are on the eligibility list, generally healthy, high-demand items. That list, however, is being reduced in October for some communities. Baby products and feminine hygiene products didn’t make the cut.

Last year Northwest did $1.49 billion in sales across their stores, including some in Alaska and the Caribbean, earning them $57.9 million in revenue. 

Now even if you failed every single math course during your tenure at school - you would still understand that if the cost to ship is roughly 2.2 million and you earned 57.9 million in revenue - then your mark up - ok let me see - 58,000,000. divided by 2.2 = CRIMINAL....... So first we take their land - then we destroy their land in the name of progress, taking away their means to survive - and then we say - Ok it's time you adapt to our ways - and then - and then - we open big box grocery stores - and tell them " it's all here - everything you could want ".  There's a stigma here with Inuits and Nanuvets - people, for the most part, consider them shiftless, lazy, and although it's true that there's an extremely high percentage of alcoholics amongst them - how would you react to a simple homemade dinner at those prices ( there are 2 other fundamental meals required in a day for a healthy existance I might add)
With despair I would think.
I think I would end up an alcoholic too......................

I love you Canada - I'm fiercely proud to stand behind my flag.  We're progressive - and fair - and " just " for the most part, so..........................

DO. SOMETHING. ABOUT. THIS. PLEASE.

because I'm having a conniption fit over this

The information from this post was sourced HERE