![]() Both Canada and the United States have been woefully inept in curbing the power of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (FAANG). These policy shifts laid the groundwork for the rise of Big Tech. Over time, neoliberal economists during the Reagan years eschewed the idea of citizenship within antitrust policy, preferring to limit the discussion to merely “consumer welfare.” As long as consumer prices remained stable, they were able to do as they pleased. The state’s perception of monopolies was as a threat to democracy itself, since a company with a monopoly has the ability to influence government and policy that may serve shareholders rather than citizens. ![]() government committed to the task of shrinking monopolies. It is no wonder that Canadians pay a premium on cell phone plans, banking, and travel.Īfter the New Deal in 1933, the U.S. Much of our consumer market is nothing but the social theatre of choice, with a myriad of stores and products under the portfolio of many of these large corporations. TD, RBC, BNS, BMO, and CIBC control 90 per cent of the banking industry Rogers, Bell, and Telus account for 88.7 per cent of the telecommunications market Air Canada and WestJet command over 85 per cent the airline industry ABInBev and Coors control 63 per cent of the beer market and Sobeys, Loblaws, Metro, Costco, and Walmart command over 60 per cent of the grocery market. In Canada we have numerous examples of monopolistic and oligopolistic hegemony in many of our industries. For example, utilities such as water and electricity tend to be in the hands of one company, these natural monopolies are more efficient at delivering utilities than a system of competing firms. The merits of a monopoly isn’t just a political question, it is also tied to whether a model of competition suits a given industry. are increasingly under the control of the corporate monopolies or oligopolies that have stifled innovation, curtailed competition and fostered an economic environment where shareholders are placed ahead of the needs of citizens. Several industries in Canada and the U.S. Innovation, free enterprise and competition are held up as cherished values that are in many cases not reality. ![]() While there is no single culprit behind price hikes and rising inflation, the global financial crisis of 2008 and corporate profiteering under COVID-19 has reasonably caused many of us to re-evaluate the state of our economy. Many Canadians have felt the pinch of rising inflation everything from groceries, gas, and real estate have increased at an alarming rate. In Canada, Sobeys, Loblaws, Metro, Costco and Walmart command over 60 per cent of the grocery market (Getty)
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