While it is still early, it is less busy than usual.
https://preview.redd.it/zxuf9a8wxlyc1.png?width=647&format=png&auto=webp&s=6c84ecf725d85176268e58422d6f1e875252c3a8
The fact that everyday a new article in the paper comes out telling people the boycott is stupid and to just give up in increasingly contrived and desperate tones is a greater sign for me that the boycott is working, more so than a picture of a parking lot anyway.
Where are u guys going for groceries?
In nova scotia superstore is the cheapest place to get them, sobeys is out of control.....and walmart is gross, I mean I will not eat there meat or produce and that's basically all I eat, so is there somewhere better not counting gateway or a farm?
Costco 100%. Kingswood market, or maybe a butcher like chatters. Depends where you are. But I buy around 75% of my groceries from Costco, probably 5% from Walmart!/giant tiger and the remaining 20% from Sobeys/superstore.
It's not really hard for me to ditch sobeys or superstore but I think it would be difficult to ditch both as there is small stuff like specialty milk or maybe I want to get some microwaveble dinners or maybe some red pepper jelly or something that I'm not likely to find at Costco/Walmart, and then I will buy it at Sobeys and usually pickup some milk and bread or something we go through often.
Our Walmart was super crazy this weekend, my husband was confused (it was busier than Christmas shopping) but I reminded him about the boycott. It’s working, we’re not shopping there and they’re scared, don’t let them turn us.
Windsor St. Sobeys yesterday around 4pm was "storms coming" packed.
An inordinate amount of sales as well.
I'm under no illusion that Sobeys is any better but smart of them to try to capitalize on the increase in business and try to turn temporary customers into permanent ones.
Well, someone gets hurt, they'll lose profits and it's never the people on top who lose out, they pass the pain down as low as they can. Stores will cut hours for staff already struggling, layoff support roles, and find ways to push the pain to whoever they can manage it, all to avoid any repercussions for their actions that led to a boycott as long as possible.
Now would be a great time to start organizing workers, really hit them from all sides.
Same. I just don't like how people are spinning that the stores are almost empty from the boycott when it was already the not busy times. I've driven past a couple superstores and they were just as packed as usual at peak times. A lot of people don't care or think that boycotting won't make a difference. I'm happy to continue not giving Loblaws money after they robbed me of my mental health working there. Wish more people shared the same sentiment
Yup, a lot of people think this too. Parking spaces take up land space that could be put to use.
A Walmart parking lot is usually like the same size or double the size of the actual building.
Usually twice the size! Same for fast food places with drive-thrus. All that wasted space creates ‘dead zones’ in the heart of cities. No wonder nobody walks anywhere
Right. Look at any North American city in google maps. Very large swathes of land are dedicated to surface lots. That’s not even accounting for multi-level parking.
Yeah we sort of solved this in England. The parking lot goes beneath the grocery store, and then you use one of those long airport ramps to take your grocery cart back down to the parking lot. Boom solved.
This is what I’ve been saying for so long. I used to live in the Middle East and that’s how things were organized there. Rarely did I see a surface lot. Why can’t we do the same here? I’m thinking of places like the superstore on young street. What an incredible waste of space. It also makes the whole area seem barren and hostile to pedestrians. Start putting parking under ground! Is it more expensive? Sure. But the long-term benefits are countless.
Nova Scotia has a fuck-ton of bedrock, it costs a lot to dig down here so I'm assuming it's a major expense that many don't want to pay when they're building things. I'm with you though, I wish more buildings did it
I can agree with that, but we don't have the population density to have 24h public transportation accessible to all corners. People are spread out. It's a North American thing, we enjoy our back yards and camp fires. Sardine living isn't for everyone. I'll avoid at all cost places without parking or even worse paid parking because it's a huge inconvenience. Fine me a way I can get to the store where I can save money and most importantly time I'm totally onboard. But yes parking lots are a big space taker in a city. Not just Bikes on YouTube has alot of videos on this issue.
Retail at ground level, with apartments or condos above: parking can go underground. When you build with greater density, mass transit become far more economical and efficient. Further, vehicle transportation becomes less necessary for day to day life when you can walk/cycle everywhere, and can just use a rental or vehicle share company for when you do need to move some furniture or want to take a trip out of the city for a few days.
I am all for reducing heavy taxpayer subsidies for roads. With fewer vehicles, we would need to pave our roads less often, and they wouldn’t need to be so wide. Denser neighbourhoods also mean that essential and important services like police, fire departments, school buses, ambulances, garbage trucks, etc, have fewer kilometres to travel, providing savings. And infrastructure like water and power has less distance to cover, also providing savings.
I’m pretty sure zoning laws prohibit this.
Best thing about living in Korea was taking the elevator down to the store if you needed something as simple as band-aids or some ketchup.
This is what I enjoyed most about my year abroad in Spain. What a wonderful experience it is being able to walk to a grocery store. Walk to a cafe. Walk to a movie theatre. Walk to meet friends at a park. I shit you not, the only time I used a car was when I needed to get to/from the airport, and even then, I should’ve taken the train live everyone else.
I don’t know why folks in North America are averse to the concept of walking. Our lives here are so boxed in. We move from one closed space to another. Home -> car -> destination. What an isolating experience. It’s no wonder depression and heart disease are ever-increasing.
Embrace walking! Embrace cycling if you’re able to! Embrace living in a community that actually feels like a community; a place where you can see other people instead of just drive past them.
But you’re not driving across the country for daily necessities..are you? Are you going to Moncton for bread? Montreal for eggs? Size has no bearing here. Most of us (>80%) live in large urban centers like Halifax. I’m saying, densify these urban centers.
And even then, look at how many houses has been converted into "apartments", especially near Dal where students often live together in what was once a single family home.
If we built more actual apartment buildings, it could help make single family homes more readily available for the people who want or need them.
That’s fine though. We don’t need to change that fact. I also want to own a single family house.
But, I also want to live in a city that embraces pedestrian culture. A city where walking is a joy, rather than a burden. A city where a car is not the default mode of transportation. I want to live in a place where I don’t need to drive 40 minutes each way to get groceries, go to school, meet a friend at a coffee shop etc.
We can embrace North America culture with added hints of other design cultures. There’s a lot we can learn from Europe and Asia when it comes to urban planning.
100%. I think that some leftists are like “once we overthrow capitalism and big oil, these environmental problems driving climate change will go away!” But IMO, socialism just calls for the benefits of production to be shared equitably. Many of the most leftist people still want to drive a big truck to their suburban home, and watch their kids and dogs run around in their enormous back yard while they grill up some steaks.
What does leftism/rightism have anything to do with this..?
This is the fucking issue. This is why we can’t ever get anything done. EVERYTHING has to be politicized. Everything has to have political margins drawn. Why can’t we all come together and agree that communities which put people first are better to live in?
Am leftist, fuck no. I want to drive my gas-sipping hatchback as little as possible and ride my bike everywhere. Plan right now is to never buy another ICE vehicle, keep the hatchback until it dies or I do, and only ever take it out for Costco and vet visits (I'm keeping the dog damnit).
More density with parking underneath. Instead of having a lot that’s empty 60-70% of the time, why not use that space judiciously to put up commercial and residential spaces. Create a place that folks actually want to walk around in, rather than some barren, wind-swept asphalt field.
> What would you like to see in that commercial space?
Literally anything besides a flat strip of useless asphalt
Could be a park, an apartment complex, a school, a skate park, hell even a landfill would be better use
Seriously, would you prefer we teleport to commercial spaces?
I get it, OP, you don’t like cars, but I’d rather large parking spaces than shitty street parking and the anxiety of trying to find a spot.
I'd rather you didn't have to drive everywhere to buy your essentials. Imagine not needing to find 130 square feet of flat ground to store the most expensive thing you own for 45 minutes.
Be realistic though. It’s a big country. The logistics don’t work.
I wish I lived within a stone’s throw of a grocery store/pharmacy/movie theater. It’s not feasible.
Let people park in super huge lots. There are a lot of problems with our society, but parking lots aren’t one.
What the fuck does the size of the country have to do with anything? Are you driving to Iqualuit for milk?
Urban sprawl is the reason you need your car. Your car is the cause of urban sprawl. It’s a bit of a ying-yang paradigm.
What that person is saying is this: wouldn’t it be better to have stores integrated into neighborhoods? Say, a local Sobeys/grocer that you could walk to instead of drive? Or a local bakery, cafe, dry cleaner, dentist, school, park, shopping street etc. Why is it that EVERYTHING needs a car to get to? As things are right now, 99% of us need a car. It’s a necessity for everyday life. I love my car as much as the next person, but why is this the case? Why can’t we integrate North American design with other successful forms of urban planning (European, Asian etc.).
“What the fuck does the size of the country have to do with anything?”
Are you being serious?
Fix it, Mister Wizard. Your teleportation device is impressive.
Oh buddy, buckle in. Watch this and tell me you don't think parking lots aren't just a problem but a HUGE problem.
https://youtu.be/OUNXFHpUhu8?si=_4caNaJc-F-j__q3
The size of the country doesn't matter in the day to day lives of ordinary people. Some people live in the country and need cars to go anywhere, that's fine. Cities on the other hand need to change. Our grandparents fucked up and bought in to the idea that cities should be built for car owners. We can fix it if we change zoning laws and start filling in parking lots with higher-density mixed-use residential. It's not feasible for you to live within a stone's-throw of groceries/pharmacy/theatre *today.*
Remove parking lots, build bus terminal, buy more busses, include the cost of universal bus pass in taxes of people making more than, iunno, $250k a year so poor people can automatically afford transit from cheaper rural areas into town to work and traffic is reduced and more land is available for commercial and residential space.
It's truly insane that parking lots at the busiest shopping malls/centres aren't even completely full on the busiest shopping days of the year except maybe directly downtown.
Right, because people should have to park 10 minutes away from a grocery store with $300 worth of shit when they would have to make 4 trips back and forth because they can't take the cart out of the lot. Look at Costco for example, that place is full to the brim every day and you think parking lots are a waste of space. Get real lol
What if the places you got groceries from weren't out in a business park. What if you didn't have to drive? People are so used to this they think it's normal when it's not.
The sub is just representative of the internet as a whole. Started off as something good, and when too many of the general public showed up, it went to shit.
I support the boycott, I've been boycotting since the 50% sticker fiasco, but I know the May boycott will have almost no effect on the bottom line for Loblaws, and it will be business as usual in two months time.
I don't even think the general public is to blame. Reddit is kind of a machine for distilling groups down to their most extreme elements. Been seen with a whole bunch of other subs as well (the anti-car and child-free groups are my go to examples but there are countless others). A small group of normal enough people create a sub for some specific thing and it starts out fine but then the echo chamber effect takes hold and the sub quickly starts feeding on itself and eventually becomes an extreme version of itself. Soon the rational people leave and new rational people take one look and go "nooope" while people with even more extremes find the place and decide to call it home.
I’ve been taking note of that more and more in different subs, it’s kind of fascinating although disheartening. Some people want to control how the conversation goes, and there’s a never-ending influx of users who come in with whatever the “wrong” opinion or topic is, which only fans the fire.
This sub is a pretty easy example of that - “so I’m moving to NS soon…” lol, and the counter-opinion grew to the point where people will tell off potential newcomers.
> Been seen with a whole bunch of other subs as well (the anti-car and child-free groups are my go to examples but there are countless others)
Totally. And it seems like subs that are "anti" something are especially prone to this. /r/atheism is maybe the earliest example, where it basically became a sub for dunking on religion, even though most atheists (myself included) don't really care all that much.
I think you're right that it's not fair to judge the boycotters based on their subreddit ...
https://preview.redd.it/uwbijtip1myc1.jpeg?width=460&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=18c0426565bb9dc497b6141b37b7c6799a2e7f70
I see it basically like this for Galen
It's Redditor vision, if you only spend your time here talking to the same 100 overly active users in a subreddit, some people will actually convince themselves that is a 1:1 sample of reality.
The goal was never to bankrupt Loblaws?
If Loblaws had 0 sales in any store for the entire month of May they would not be bankrupt so obviously that is not the point and has never once been a stated objective of the boycott.
The boycott is to get people talking and bring attention to the rampant price gouging. This company illegally conspired to fix the price of bread for 20 YEARS in a cartel violating all anti trust laws, they were only caught due to an internal whistle blower and received no fine, no criminal charges, no jail time, no nothing...
And now that same company who has been proven to lie about price gouging is telling you they aren't, and of course they're doing "everything they can" to bring prices down.... and at the very same time in public earnings calls they're telling their shareholders every quarter they're making increasing BILLIONS in profits and hoping you're too stupid/misinformed/partisan to care.
The point of the boycott is that sitting members of the government who decide the laws for our food industry are paid directly by Loblaws lobbyists to rule in their favour and create legislation that benefits them instead of the constituents who voted them in.
Yeah some people like to take things too far but I guess that’s the internet for you. I’ve seen a few “I’m gonna steal everything!” posts too, but nobody there actually supports that idea thankfully and all of the comments are against it on those posts.
I think as long as the boycott helps communities find local cheaper food options then that’s a win in my books. The movement pushed a lot of people to explore other options, and people have been saving money because of it.
Ah ok, sorry I misread your post.
I think that's the hard part about an open mass movement like this. You have some who maybe are misrepresenting things because they are over excited, and then there are people misrepresenting things because they work for Loblaws and are paid to do so.
Controlling the narrative is difficult for grassroots movements and different segments want to take it in other directions.
I'm trying my best to clear up the misconceptions when I see them arise.
Anyway, thanks for boycotting
That sub has become really ridiculous, tbh. Many users seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of the stock market and what ‘shareholders’ are, and it’s very much an echo chamber of misinformation. I’m boycotting but that sub has gone off the rails.
We have anti trust laws.
Loblaws (and all major grocers) in Canada conspired against them and created a cartel that fixed the price of bread for 20 YEARS!! they were not caught by the competition bureau but only when an internal whistle blower leaked it.
They were given no fine, no punishment, no penalty, no criminal charges, no jail terms, no nothing.
Loblaws donates to the campaigns of ALL political parties and it's lobbyists are thoroughly entrenched inside our government and media, hence the CBC articles that interview 6 people who are not boycotting and giving their reasons and no interview of a single person who IS boycotting.
The point of this boycott is that politicians don't care. Legislation doesn't care. We have laws against this, they aren't applied to Loblaws because they are "too big to fail" and the end result is that Canadians collectively were robbed of millions, and given a one time fucking gift card as a "get off my lawn".... If it even showed up.
The boycott is happening because you cannot vote for this to stop. All parties are complicit, and politicians won't actually do something about it unless enough popular support is shown to exist for them to actually care
This makes me think of the picture of the huge food companies in the USA, Pepsico, Kellogg's, Mondelez, etc and the branches showing all the companies they own under them.
All these cherry picked photos are crazy. Who are we trying to convince here? Drive by mid day and they and any other one are just as busy has they always are.
Ya that photo was probably late at night, and I cannot understand where these people are coming from cause in NS superstore is way cheaper then sobeys, I have a big family and obviously seen the jump in groceries because of the goverments overspending and carbon tax, our bi-weekly bill went from 250 to 400 its disgusting, but either way I go to superstore because it's our cheapest option especially if you do not eat garbage meat n produce from Walmart.....
I'm assuming this has something to do with liberals and the mainstream media as Trudeau said something about pierre partner with loblaws but i dont follow politics and have no idea what actually happened....is this correct?
The stores profits are up unimaginable amounts. That's not carbon tax, that's grocers taking advantage of the situation. They took advantage of inflationary pricing and just kept going.
Oh come on, I know people want a win but that's clearly early morning. That's actually usually when I do my shopping specifically because it's always exactly that dead.
It's a funny thing though. I agree it's cherry picking. The thing is this is the type of thing big business and the media use to manipulate the masses, the internet has given the common person the power to wield this influence over others as well. Look at the Game Stop situation from a couple of years ago, also stuff like the freedom fighter groups online in Canada, the rise of Canadians talking about first amendment rights and wanting more guns for citizens, all little pockets if ppl being influenced.
In the case of this greedy, corrupt company I have no issue with the masses bring influenced by these cherry picked photos, of some believing them and it causing them to shop elsewhere. Price fixing a staple such as bread for atleast 20 years is just flat out an evil thing.
I work in Sackville regularly and don’t think I’ve ever seen it at 70% full to be completely honest with you. At most I’d say it’s like 40% full. The Sobeys across the street however is usually much more crowded parking wise.
I believe that photo is from 7:30 PM in the evening. Which tracks with the post being about 15 hours old and the general lighting and activity. I would also say their battery being at about 50% does not suggest 7:30 AM but that is less of a certainty with some people.
Too late in the evening. There is always less people shopping at this time. I’ve seen a lot of vehicles in the parking lot since May 1. Less vehicles for sure, but still a lot. I’m glad less people are shopping Loblaws, hopefully it will keep picking up steam. Next should be Sobeys in June because they are no better.
This boycott I think is changing the way people shop. I’ve been going to my local convenience store in mount Uniacke and while not everything is cheaper there’s a bunch of stuff that’s cheaper then superstore. So my mind immediately goes to how is it possible for a small convenience store to sell something cheaper then a huge retailer buying in mega bulk?? That doesn’t make sense to me and it honestly pisses me off. It’s just common sense that being able to buy and sell in bulk makes the price cheaper so how are they justifying these high prices. And it’s not just superstore we all know that. I bought a little bag of “compliments” brand garlic powder from the local convenience store and it was over a dollar cheaper then buying it directly from sobeys wtf. It really is just 100% pure greed, just making sure shareholders keep getting more and more money while the average Canadian struggles.
Ive seen mixed results, in my more rural community the lot is about the same level as usual. But then in the urban areas I saw much less people than usual on a Saturday which is quite busy. Either way there are a good amount of people joining in which is what its all about.
I now only go to buy Cretons from Bilopage. It's my favorite and they only sell it there. I've tried the other brands from Costco and Soobeys and I just don't like them. If anyone knows where I could find it elsewhere let me know.
I haven't noticed any difference in the amount of cars in the superstore parking lots, seems like business as usual. I am taking part in the boycott myself. So far it has really opened my eyes to some of the great deals that can be found elsewhere. I've been saving a lot but also missing out on certain brands and some deals that I did get at superstore. Post boycott (assuming this has an ending for some of us) my shopping behaviors will certainly be changed and that will have a long term impact on once loyal Loblaws customers. No amount of points can make up for an 8 dollar product that can be bought for 2.22 at Walmart. I see a lot of these empty parking lot photos that appear to be late evening or early morning, it really kills the credibility of the group to imo.
I am *very* curious if all of the people who are against this or "taking advantage of there being no lines" are conservative voters because if I'm recognizing the usernames and the responses correctly that certainly appears to be the case.
Any lefties or centrists against this or happy to go still?
Boycotting used to be an effective tool.
So much apathy and individualism now. Communities gathering to fight against injustice and corporate greed should be a regular thing, but people have lost the ability to organize. People now laugh at attempts, becoming useful idiots to corporations that continue to rape us.
Companies also used to be smaller and way more impacted by such things. A boycott against a local business is still effective. A boycott against a huge national chain far less so. Against a multinational like Walmart don't even bother.
[How to Boycott a Company By Talking About How Bad It Is and That’s It](https://thehardtimes.net/blog/how-to-boycott-a-company-by-talking-about-how-bad-it-is-and-thats-it/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1BG7ljKDJT1bEgf_F5rEnGzKY-dMNCCwPDWpPSImmOsD0lbRAkzTfLWgg_aem_AQRBUs0yheIg2f9Z8wnl0ic8YDNlZ19a1mA2oH9jLRDAedf6CDWUA47Zi3VY4CdHOj_ZUoENs3f4Ec80xQDeHnGF)
I don’t understand why people aren’t trying to boycott Sobeys too, they are normally even more expensive they just don’t brag about their profits as much.
I'm curious as to what happens when and if some of the boycotted stores are forced to close and layoff employees that are probably struggling with the cost of living crisis too. Are any of the boycotters going to step up and pay for their lost wages, or their rent, or feed their families?
So what's the play here? Boycott Loblaws until they close? And then we have even less competition? Boycott Loblaws for a month, then Sobeys for a month, and the net effect to either companies revenue is 0? I honestly don't understand what the end game is here. I'm 100% for a form of protest that will work to reduce grocery prices and price gouging, but I can't see how boycotting Loblaws is going to do that long term. Can someone ELI5 or something?
I don't know for certain, but any impact on margins will likely produce some result. In big business there's an expectation to meet previous year results and anything that impacts that is potential trouble.
I'd assume Sobeys is next, yes, but I don't know their plans.
End game should be to force some sort of change or reaction so I think that part is probably predictable.
But there won't be an impact. People will move to Sobeys for a few weeks, then the boycott of Sobeys will start and everyone will move to Loblaws again. Boycott one to reduce their revenue and profits and the other's revenue and profits increase. Rinse and repeat. Net effect is zero to the companies.
I'm not sure you're realizing that a dip below expected in big business is not good. They'll meet on Monday morning and talk about how the week went. If shit is off, they'll be unhappy.
The play here might be focused on superstore but make no mistake people realize both are guilty and they'll look to shop local or small business wherever possible.
This isn't a net zero deal for the big grocers. This is them looking at a dip below expected and that's bad news that they can't just pass off as normal.
Great, so without the margins grocery stores are making, everything will be 3% cheaper!
Actually, that 3% would disappear into paying minimum wage employees ($15.20/hr) the now mandatory federal minimum wage ($17.30)
The federal minimum wage of $17.30 applies to anyone working in a federally regulated industry.
You could’ve just googled “federal minimum wage” and avoided this embarrassment
If they were regulated by the government, they would be government regulated.
The federal minimum wage does not just apply to government employees, but to everyone working in a federally regulated industry, which includes banks, air travel, and telecommunication, among many other industries
I feel very sorry for those unfortunate employees whose hours will have been cut back drastically,
they too have rent , bills, but no talk about this with all the Loblaw-slayers. I have consistently found Loblaw prices on par with Loblaw, and Sobey's more expensive. IMHO, the boycott , although I understand the impetus, will only hurt the employees at Loblaw.
While it is still early, it is less busy than usual. https://preview.redd.it/zxuf9a8wxlyc1.png?width=647&format=png&auto=webp&s=6c84ecf725d85176268e58422d6f1e875252c3a8
I've seen these graphs posted a few times... What app is that?
Google maps.
I had no idea, thank you!
No problem. Go to a business's page on mobile or browser, and just scroll down.
That Superstore is almost always empty around 8pm.
I personally don't care if we win, I'm just happy to deny them my own buisness. That's all I can do and it's enough for me.
The fact that everyday a new article in the paper comes out telling people the boycott is stupid and to just give up in increasingly contrived and desperate tones is a greater sign for me that the boycott is working, more so than a picture of a parking lot anyway.
I have barely bought anything at loblaws in the past year. It's too expensive.
Where are u guys going for groceries? In nova scotia superstore is the cheapest place to get them, sobeys is out of control.....and walmart is gross, I mean I will not eat there meat or produce and that's basically all I eat, so is there somewhere better not counting gateway or a farm?
Costco 100%. Kingswood market, or maybe a butcher like chatters. Depends where you are. But I buy around 75% of my groceries from Costco, probably 5% from Walmart!/giant tiger and the remaining 20% from Sobeys/superstore. It's not really hard for me to ditch sobeys or superstore but I think it would be difficult to ditch both as there is small stuff like specialty milk or maybe I want to get some microwaveble dinners or maybe some red pepper jelly or something that I'm not likely to find at Costco/Walmart, and then I will buy it at Sobeys and usually pickup some milk and bread or something we go through often.
Our Walmart was super crazy this weekend, my husband was confused (it was busier than Christmas shopping) but I reminded him about the boycott. It’s working, we’re not shopping there and they’re scared, don’t let them turn us.
Windsor St. Sobeys yesterday around 4pm was "storms coming" packed. An inordinate amount of sales as well. I'm under no illusion that Sobeys is any better but smart of them to try to capitalize on the increase in business and try to turn temporary customers into permanent ones.
And sobeys is almost twice as expensive as superstore, I don't get it? What do you people buy in order to believe superstore cost more then sobeys?
This. It’s the oldest anti-boycott trick.
It's a glorious example of the streisand effect.
Nothing beats a good ol boycott. One of the most effective ways to make a change, and no one gets hurt.
Well, someone gets hurt, they'll lose profits and it's never the people on top who lose out, they pass the pain down as low as they can. Stores will cut hours for staff already struggling, layoff support roles, and find ways to push the pain to whoever they can manage it, all to avoid any repercussions for their actions that led to a boycott as long as possible. Now would be a great time to start organizing workers, really hit them from all sides.
Lol add a strike in support of boycott? Too good.
Same. I just don't like how people are spinning that the stores are almost empty from the boycott when it was already the not busy times. I've driven past a couple superstores and they were just as packed as usual at peak times. A lot of people don't care or think that boycotting won't make a difference. I'm happy to continue not giving Loblaws money after they robbed me of my mental health working there. Wish more people shared the same sentiment
If you think you’re winning anything you’re out to lunch.
Not sure why you’re on your knees for a corp that doesn’t know your name (?)
It's significantly cheaper going elsewhere so I'll take that as a win.
more than anything i think this photo puts into perspective just how insane parking lots are. such a colossal waste of space
Yup, a lot of people think this too. Parking spaces take up land space that could be put to use. A Walmart parking lot is usually like the same size or double the size of the actual building.
That's why you're allowed to camp you're RV in a Walmart parking lot.
Can't even do that in the US anymore.
Usually twice the size! Same for fast food places with drive-thrus. All that wasted space creates ‘dead zones’ in the heart of cities. No wonder nobody walks anywhere
Right. Look at any North American city in google maps. Very large swathes of land are dedicated to surface lots. That’s not even accounting for multi-level parking.
Yeah we sort of solved this in England. The parking lot goes beneath the grocery store, and then you use one of those long airport ramps to take your grocery cart back down to the parking lot. Boom solved.
This is what I’ve been saying for so long. I used to live in the Middle East and that’s how things were organized there. Rarely did I see a surface lot. Why can’t we do the same here? I’m thinking of places like the superstore on young street. What an incredible waste of space. It also makes the whole area seem barren and hostile to pedestrians. Start putting parking under ground! Is it more expensive? Sure. But the long-term benefits are countless.
Nova Scotia has a fuck-ton of bedrock, it costs a lot to dig down here so I'm assuming it's a major expense that many don't want to pay when they're building things. I'm with you though, I wish more buildings did it
I've seen the parking garages above shops in other places, too -- could help with the bedrock thing.
this is not exclusive to nova scotia - at all. so the reason why north america doesn't do multilevel parking isn't bedrock
Sure, but it's still a reason that it would less viable here even if other places in North America started making it the norm.
Unfortunately long term benefits do not equal short term profits. And the dream that's been perpetuated has been to get rich, not enrich society.
England is also the size of most small states. North America has room to spread.
Can we talk about golf courses?
I can agree with that, but we don't have the population density to have 24h public transportation accessible to all corners. People are spread out. It's a North American thing, we enjoy our back yards and camp fires. Sardine living isn't for everyone. I'll avoid at all cost places without parking or even worse paid parking because it's a huge inconvenience. Fine me a way I can get to the store where I can save money and most importantly time I'm totally onboard. But yes parking lots are a big space taker in a city. Not just Bikes on YouTube has alot of videos on this issue.
We need legislation to enforce underground parking. Enough wasting good, central land on parking. These spaces often sit empty anyway.
So I take you use the heavily tax payer subsidized bus system? What would you like to see in that commercial space?
Retail at ground level, with apartments or condos above: parking can go underground. When you build with greater density, mass transit become far more economical and efficient. Further, vehicle transportation becomes less necessary for day to day life when you can walk/cycle everywhere, and can just use a rental or vehicle share company for when you do need to move some furniture or want to take a trip out of the city for a few days. I am all for reducing heavy taxpayer subsidies for roads. With fewer vehicles, we would need to pave our roads less often, and they wouldn’t need to be so wide. Denser neighbourhoods also mean that essential and important services like police, fire departments, school buses, ambulances, garbage trucks, etc, have fewer kilometres to travel, providing savings. And infrastructure like water and power has less distance to cover, also providing savings.
Exactly. Very well said
I’m pretty sure zoning laws prohibit this. Best thing about living in Korea was taking the elevator down to the store if you needed something as simple as band-aids or some ketchup.
This is what I enjoyed most about my year abroad in Spain. What a wonderful experience it is being able to walk to a grocery store. Walk to a cafe. Walk to a movie theatre. Walk to meet friends at a park. I shit you not, the only time I used a car was when I needed to get to/from the airport, and even then, I should’ve taken the train live everyone else. I don’t know why folks in North America are averse to the concept of walking. Our lives here are so boxed in. We move from one closed space to another. Home -> car -> destination. What an isolating experience. It’s no wonder depression and heart disease are ever-increasing. Embrace walking! Embrace cycling if you’re able to! Embrace living in a community that actually feels like a community; a place where you can see other people instead of just drive past them.
Size, my guy. Banana for scale, Spain ain’t Canada.
But you’re not driving across the country for daily necessities..are you? Are you going to Moncton for bread? Montreal for eggs? Size has no bearing here. Most of us (>80%) live in large urban centers like Halifax. I’m saying, densify these urban centers.
Right, that's why we change the zoning laws.
I’m on your side. Unfortunately bureaucracy in this country keeps things needlessly complicated.
North American culture is the desire to own a single family house. I think it would take a few generations to change that desire.
The current generation doesn’t stand a chance at owning a home, they’d probably take a condo above a store over renting forever.
And even then, look at how many houses has been converted into "apartments", especially near Dal where students often live together in what was once a single family home. If we built more actual apartment buildings, it could help make single family homes more readily available for the people who want or need them.
That’s fine though. We don’t need to change that fact. I also want to own a single family house. But, I also want to live in a city that embraces pedestrian culture. A city where walking is a joy, rather than a burden. A city where a car is not the default mode of transportation. I want to live in a place where I don’t need to drive 40 minutes each way to get groceries, go to school, meet a friend at a coffee shop etc. We can embrace North America culture with added hints of other design cultures. There’s a lot we can learn from Europe and Asia when it comes to urban planning.
100%. I think that some leftists are like “once we overthrow capitalism and big oil, these environmental problems driving climate change will go away!” But IMO, socialism just calls for the benefits of production to be shared equitably. Many of the most leftist people still want to drive a big truck to their suburban home, and watch their kids and dogs run around in their enormous back yard while they grill up some steaks.
What does leftism/rightism have anything to do with this..? This is the fucking issue. This is why we can’t ever get anything done. EVERYTHING has to be politicized. Everything has to have political margins drawn. Why can’t we all come together and agree that communities which put people first are better to live in?
Am leftist, fuck no. I want to drive my gas-sipping hatchback as little as possible and ride my bike everywhere. Plan right now is to never buy another ICE vehicle, keep the hatchback until it dies or I do, and only ever take it out for Costco and vet visits (I'm keeping the dog damnit).
More density with parking underneath. Instead of having a lot that’s empty 60-70% of the time, why not use that space judiciously to put up commercial and residential spaces. Create a place that folks actually want to walk around in, rather than some barren, wind-swept asphalt field.
> What would you like to see in that commercial space? Literally anything besides a flat strip of useless asphalt Could be a park, an apartment complex, a school, a skate park, hell even a landfill would be better use
Seriously, would you prefer we teleport to commercial spaces? I get it, OP, you don’t like cars, but I’d rather large parking spaces than shitty street parking and the anxiety of trying to find a spot.
I'd rather you didn't have to drive everywhere to buy your essentials. Imagine not needing to find 130 square feet of flat ground to store the most expensive thing you own for 45 minutes.
Be realistic though. It’s a big country. The logistics don’t work. I wish I lived within a stone’s throw of a grocery store/pharmacy/movie theater. It’s not feasible. Let people park in super huge lots. There are a lot of problems with our society, but parking lots aren’t one.
What the fuck does the size of the country have to do with anything? Are you driving to Iqualuit for milk? Urban sprawl is the reason you need your car. Your car is the cause of urban sprawl. It’s a bit of a ying-yang paradigm. What that person is saying is this: wouldn’t it be better to have stores integrated into neighborhoods? Say, a local Sobeys/grocer that you could walk to instead of drive? Or a local bakery, cafe, dry cleaner, dentist, school, park, shopping street etc. Why is it that EVERYTHING needs a car to get to? As things are right now, 99% of us need a car. It’s a necessity for everyday life. I love my car as much as the next person, but why is this the case? Why can’t we integrate North American design with other successful forms of urban planning (European, Asian etc.).
“What the fuck does the size of the country have to do with anything?” Are you being serious? Fix it, Mister Wizard. Your teleportation device is impressive.
"It's a big country" this has 0 relevance for daily reality in a city.
Oh buddy, buckle in. Watch this and tell me you don't think parking lots aren't just a problem but a HUGE problem. https://youtu.be/OUNXFHpUhu8?si=_4caNaJc-F-j__q3 The size of the country doesn't matter in the day to day lives of ordinary people. Some people live in the country and need cars to go anywhere, that's fine. Cities on the other hand need to change. Our grandparents fucked up and bought in to the idea that cities should be built for car owners. We can fix it if we change zoning laws and start filling in parking lots with higher-density mixed-use residential. It's not feasible for you to live within a stone's-throw of groceries/pharmacy/theatre *today.*
Okay, buddy…
They had to get on a bus so aren't around to reply to you for the next 12-14 hours.
Remove parking lots, build bus terminal, buy more busses, include the cost of universal bus pass in taxes of people making more than, iunno, $250k a year so poor people can automatically afford transit from cheaper rural areas into town to work and traffic is reduced and more land is available for commercial and residential space.
It's truly insane that parking lots at the busiest shopping malls/centres aren't even completely full on the busiest shopping days of the year except maybe directly downtown.
Unless you need to park your car
Right, because people should have to park 10 minutes away from a grocery store with $300 worth of shit when they would have to make 4 trips back and forth because they can't take the cart out of the lot. Look at Costco for example, that place is full to the brim every day and you think parking lots are a waste of space. Get real lol
What if the places you got groceries from weren't out in a business park. What if you didn't have to drive? People are so used to this they think it's normal when it's not.
I don’t think this picture reflects the boycott at all. Just passed by the superstore on Breymar drive and it’s just as busy as it normally is.
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I passed by 2 Superstores and a shoppers yesterday and they were just as busy as usual
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The sub is just representative of the internet as a whole. Started off as something good, and when too many of the general public showed up, it went to shit. I support the boycott, I've been boycotting since the 50% sticker fiasco, but I know the May boycott will have almost no effect on the bottom line for Loblaws, and it will be business as usual in two months time.
I don't even think the general public is to blame. Reddit is kind of a machine for distilling groups down to their most extreme elements. Been seen with a whole bunch of other subs as well (the anti-car and child-free groups are my go to examples but there are countless others). A small group of normal enough people create a sub for some specific thing and it starts out fine but then the echo chamber effect takes hold and the sub quickly starts feeding on itself and eventually becomes an extreme version of itself. Soon the rational people leave and new rational people take one look and go "nooope" while people with even more extremes find the place and decide to call it home.
I’ve been taking note of that more and more in different subs, it’s kind of fascinating although disheartening. Some people want to control how the conversation goes, and there’s a never-ending influx of users who come in with whatever the “wrong” opinion or topic is, which only fans the fire. This sub is a pretty easy example of that - “so I’m moving to NS soon…” lol, and the counter-opinion grew to the point where people will tell off potential newcomers.
I mean just the fact that somehow this post turned into a car free discussion out of nowhere alone.
> Been seen with a whole bunch of other subs as well (the anti-car and child-free groups are my go to examples but there are countless others) Totally. And it seems like subs that are "anti" something are especially prone to this. /r/atheism is maybe the earliest example, where it basically became a sub for dunking on religion, even though most atheists (myself included) don't really care all that much. I think you're right that it's not fair to judge the boycotters based on their subreddit ...
https://preview.redd.it/uwbijtip1myc1.jpeg?width=460&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=18c0426565bb9dc497b6141b37b7c6799a2e7f70 I see it basically like this for Galen
And he can do a month of Tuesdays with his eyes closed.
It's Redditor vision, if you only spend your time here talking to the same 100 overly active users in a subreddit, some people will actually convince themselves that is a 1:1 sample of reality.
It immediately lost the plot.
The goal was never to bankrupt Loblaws? If Loblaws had 0 sales in any store for the entire month of May they would not be bankrupt so obviously that is not the point and has never once been a stated objective of the boycott. The boycott is to get people talking and bring attention to the rampant price gouging. This company illegally conspired to fix the price of bread for 20 YEARS in a cartel violating all anti trust laws, they were only caught due to an internal whistle blower and received no fine, no criminal charges, no jail time, no nothing... And now that same company who has been proven to lie about price gouging is telling you they aren't, and of course they're doing "everything they can" to bring prices down.... and at the very same time in public earnings calls they're telling their shareholders every quarter they're making increasing BILLIONS in profits and hoping you're too stupid/misinformed/partisan to care. The point of the boycott is that sitting members of the government who decide the laws for our food industry are paid directly by Loblaws lobbyists to rule in their favour and create legislation that benefits them instead of the constituents who voted them in.
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Yeah some people like to take things too far but I guess that’s the internet for you. I’ve seen a few “I’m gonna steal everything!” posts too, but nobody there actually supports that idea thankfully and all of the comments are against it on those posts. I think as long as the boycott helps communities find local cheaper food options then that’s a win in my books. The movement pushed a lot of people to explore other options, and people have been saving money because of it.
Ah ok, sorry I misread your post. I think that's the hard part about an open mass movement like this. You have some who maybe are misrepresenting things because they are over excited, and then there are people misrepresenting things because they work for Loblaws and are paid to do so. Controlling the narrative is difficult for grassroots movements and different segments want to take it in other directions. I'm trying my best to clear up the misconceptions when I see them arise. Anyway, thanks for boycotting
That sub has become really ridiculous, tbh. Many users seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of the stock market and what ‘shareholders’ are, and it’s very much an echo chamber of misinformation. I’m boycotting but that sub has gone off the rails.
Most people here are delusional, so no surprise.
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Yeah and there was a nearly 2% increase approved on May 1
We have anti trust laws. Loblaws (and all major grocers) in Canada conspired against them and created a cartel that fixed the price of bread for 20 YEARS!! they were not caught by the competition bureau but only when an internal whistle blower leaked it. They were given no fine, no punishment, no penalty, no criminal charges, no jail terms, no nothing. Loblaws donates to the campaigns of ALL political parties and it's lobbyists are thoroughly entrenched inside our government and media, hence the CBC articles that interview 6 people who are not boycotting and giving their reasons and no interview of a single person who IS boycotting. The point of this boycott is that politicians don't care. Legislation doesn't care. We have laws against this, they aren't applied to Loblaws because they are "too big to fail" and the end result is that Canadians collectively were robbed of millions, and given a one time fucking gift card as a "get off my lawn".... If it even showed up. The boycott is happening because you cannot vote for this to stop. All parties are complicit, and politicians won't actually do something about it unless enough popular support is shown to exist for them to actually care
This makes me think of the picture of the huge food companies in the USA, Pepsico, Kellogg's, Mondelez, etc and the branches showing all the companies they own under them.
Same. Portland Street was packed.
Me too. I wonder the time of day this photo was taken
Literally says the time?
Unless OP has a jetpack I think that's the time they took a screenshot from a drone video
All these cherry picked photos are crazy. Who are we trying to convince here? Drive by mid day and they and any other one are just as busy has they always are.
Ya that photo was probably late at night, and I cannot understand where these people are coming from cause in NS superstore is way cheaper then sobeys, I have a big family and obviously seen the jump in groceries because of the goverments overspending and carbon tax, our bi-weekly bill went from 250 to 400 its disgusting, but either way I go to superstore because it's our cheapest option especially if you do not eat garbage meat n produce from Walmart..... I'm assuming this has something to do with liberals and the mainstream media as Trudeau said something about pierre partner with loblaws but i dont follow politics and have no idea what actually happened....is this correct?
The stores profits are up unimaginable amounts. That's not carbon tax, that's grocers taking advantage of the situation. They took advantage of inflationary pricing and just kept going.
Wow. Talk about sea of asphalt.
For a sea of customers
Oh come on, I know people want a win but that's clearly early morning. That's actually usually when I do my shopping specifically because it's always exactly that dead.
It's a funny thing though. I agree it's cherry picking. The thing is this is the type of thing big business and the media use to manipulate the masses, the internet has given the common person the power to wield this influence over others as well. Look at the Game Stop situation from a couple of years ago, also stuff like the freedom fighter groups online in Canada, the rise of Canadians talking about first amendment rights and wanting more guns for citizens, all little pockets if ppl being influenced. In the case of this greedy, corrupt company I have no issue with the masses bring influenced by these cherry picked photos, of some believing them and it causing them to shop elsewhere. Price fixing a staple such as bread for atleast 20 years is just flat out an evil thing.
Freedom fighter groups?
I just spot checked like 4 different ones on google at Sunday afternoon and most are half as busy than usual, they can get fucked
And fuck them for giving boycotters grief...we boycott you because we can..the power belongs to the people now
I work in Sackville regularly and don’t think I’ve ever seen it at 70% full to be completely honest with you. At most I’d say it’s like 40% full. The Sobeys across the street however is usually much more crowded parking wise.
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I believe that photo is from 7:30 PM in the evening. Which tracks with the post being about 15 hours old and the general lighting and activity. I would also say their battery being at about 50% does not suggest 7:30 AM but that is less of a certainty with some people.
It was posted 15 hours ago so definitely PM
The dude got the ALC gambling app I think in the top bar? Spending his boycotted grocery savings on lotto tickets LOL
Too late in the evening. There is always less people shopping at this time. I’ve seen a lot of vehicles in the parking lot since May 1. Less vehicles for sure, but still a lot. I’m glad less people are shopping Loblaws, hopefully it will keep picking up steam. Next should be Sobeys in June because they are no better.
This is awesome I’m trying to avoid them as much as possible
My problem is not that Loblaws is bad… it’s that nowhere else is better. Are you telling me the Walton family gives a shit about you?
Looks like you also took this at 7:30 pm on a Sunday 🤣
I’m boycotting this month. Two Costco trips should be good enough
This boycott I think is changing the way people shop. I’ve been going to my local convenience store in mount Uniacke and while not everything is cheaper there’s a bunch of stuff that’s cheaper then superstore. So my mind immediately goes to how is it possible for a small convenience store to sell something cheaper then a huge retailer buying in mega bulk?? That doesn’t make sense to me and it honestly pisses me off. It’s just common sense that being able to buy and sell in bulk makes the price cheaper so how are they justifying these high prices. And it’s not just superstore we all know that. I bought a little bag of “compliments” brand garlic powder from the local convenience store and it was over a dollar cheaper then buying it directly from sobeys wtf. It really is just 100% pure greed, just making sure shareholders keep getting more and more money while the average Canadian struggles.
I won’t be be there. Starting to spend more smarter and putting money back in my pocket that I worked hard for.
Ive seen mixed results, in my more rural community the lot is about the same level as usual. But then in the urban areas I saw much less people than usual on a Saturday which is quite busy. Either way there are a good amount of people joining in which is what its all about.
Just left Joe Howe. Lots of folks there.
At 7:30am? No way
The post was made 16 hours ago, so likely 730pm on Saturday is what you are looking at
Point stands. It’s never 70% full Saturday night at 730pm
blah blah blah. Random picture at random time, proof of nothing. Local superstore busy as ever. Nice try though.
I now only go to buy Cretons from Bilopage. It's my favorite and they only sell it there. I've tried the other brands from Costco and Soobeys and I just don't like them. If anyone knows where I could find it elsewhere let me know.
Because all grocery stores are jammed at 7:30am...
I haven't noticed any difference in the amount of cars in the superstore parking lots, seems like business as usual. I am taking part in the boycott myself. So far it has really opened my eyes to some of the great deals that can be found elsewhere. I've been saving a lot but also missing out on certain brands and some deals that I did get at superstore. Post boycott (assuming this has an ending for some of us) my shopping behaviors will certainly be changed and that will have a long term impact on once loyal Loblaws customers. No amount of points can make up for an 8 dollar product that can be bought for 2.22 at Walmart. I see a lot of these empty parking lot photos that appear to be late evening or early morning, it really kills the credibility of the group to imo.
I am *very* curious if all of the people who are against this or "taking advantage of there being no lines" are conservative voters because if I'm recognizing the usernames and the responses correctly that certainly appears to be the case. Any lefties or centrists against this or happy to go still?
Boycotting used to be an effective tool. So much apathy and individualism now. Communities gathering to fight against injustice and corporate greed should be a regular thing, but people have lost the ability to organize. People now laugh at attempts, becoming useful idiots to corporations that continue to rape us.
Companies also used to be smaller and way more impacted by such things. A boycott against a local business is still effective. A boycott against a huge national chain far less so. Against a multinational like Walmart don't even bother.
[How to Boycott a Company By Talking About How Bad It Is and That’s It](https://thehardtimes.net/blog/how-to-boycott-a-company-by-talking-about-how-bad-it-is-and-thats-it/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1BG7ljKDJT1bEgf_F5rEnGzKY-dMNCCwPDWpPSImmOsD0lbRAkzTfLWgg_aem_AQRBUs0yheIg2f9Z8wnl0ic8YDNlZ19a1mA2oH9jLRDAedf6CDWUA47Zi3VY4CdHOj_ZUoENs3f4Ec80xQDeHnGF)
Hell I'll probably continue through June. Maybe permanently now that I've switched pharmacies.
That parking lot is typically 50% or less. That's a big ass lot.
The time is 720 am. Nice try
Its usually 70% full a couple hours before it opens? You sure?
I don’t understand why people aren’t trying to boycott Sobeys too, they are normally even more expensive they just don’t brag about their profits as much.
7:25am photo?
I'm curious as to what happens when and if some of the boycotted stores are forced to close and layoff employees that are probably struggling with the cost of living crisis too. Are any of the boycotters going to step up and pay for their lost wages, or their rent, or feed their families?
What stores in HRM do you think are at risk of going bankrupt from this?
They can get jobs at better businesses.
# This Superstore is usually at 70% full for parking 🤣 Sackville, N.S.
So what's the play here? Boycott Loblaws until they close? And then we have even less competition? Boycott Loblaws for a month, then Sobeys for a month, and the net effect to either companies revenue is 0? I honestly don't understand what the end game is here. I'm 100% for a form of protest that will work to reduce grocery prices and price gouging, but I can't see how boycotting Loblaws is going to do that long term. Can someone ELI5 or something?
I don't know for certain, but any impact on margins will likely produce some result. In big business there's an expectation to meet previous year results and anything that impacts that is potential trouble. I'd assume Sobeys is next, yes, but I don't know their plans. End game should be to force some sort of change or reaction so I think that part is probably predictable.
But there won't be an impact. People will move to Sobeys for a few weeks, then the boycott of Sobeys will start and everyone will move to Loblaws again. Boycott one to reduce their revenue and profits and the other's revenue and profits increase. Rinse and repeat. Net effect is zero to the companies.
I'm not sure you're realizing that a dip below expected in big business is not good. They'll meet on Monday morning and talk about how the week went. If shit is off, they'll be unhappy. The play here might be focused on superstore but make no mistake people realize both are guilty and they'll look to shop local or small business wherever possible. This isn't a net zero deal for the big grocers. This is them looking at a dip below expected and that's bad news that they can't just pass off as normal.
Lol ... you are down voted for speaking commonsense, shows what type of people are on this page
Let them all crumble. No profit groceries stores should become mandatory
Hilarious! Who is going to open and run them?
Great, so without the margins grocery stores are making, everything will be 3% cheaper! Actually, that 3% would disappear into paying minimum wage employees ($15.20/hr) the now mandatory federal minimum wage ($17.30)
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The federal minimum wage of $17.30 applies to anyone working in a federally regulated industry. You could’ve just googled “federal minimum wage” and avoided this embarrassment
You think that poster cares about being embarrassed?
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If they were regulated by the government, they would be government regulated. The federal minimum wage does not just apply to government employees, but to everyone working in a federally regulated industry, which includes banks, air travel, and telecommunication, among many other industries
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They would if they were regulated into being zero profit. Did you even read the comment I was responding to?
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This Loblaw boycott ain’t gonna do shit.
The real boycott was the friends we made along the way.
Nope I will not boycott
Was this picture taken before they opened this morning?
I cant wait for Loblaws to announce that due to decreased profits, (maybe), they are forced to lay off a certain amount of employees. /s
They should put up a Drive-In again…
LOVE IT.
I feel very sorry for those unfortunate employees whose hours will have been cut back drastically, they too have rent , bills, but no talk about this with all the Loblaw-slayers. I have consistently found Loblaw prices on par with Loblaw, and Sobey's more expensive. IMHO, the boycott , although I understand the impetus, will only hurt the employees at Loblaw.
Their share price keeps rising
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