\u201cPeople are having trouble making ends meet. We all know that. We all hear that,\u201d Perruzza told Thursday\u2019s council meeting.<\/p>\n
Mayor Olivia Chow threw a couple of extra items in Perruzza\u2019s grocery cart. She amended his motion to expand what would have been a report strictly on ways to figure out city-run stores to also cover a list of food-related subjects, such as exploring \u201cpolicy levers available to the city to prevent price gouging by grocery and other retailers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chow thanked Perruzza for bringing the idea forward, and told council she thinks voters are \u201chungry for innovative thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perruzza\u2019s proposal passed 21-3, with Brad Bradford, Jon Burnside and Stephen Holyday opposed. Mike Colle and Josh Matlow were absent.<\/p>\n
While Michael Thompson voted in favour, he didn\u2019t give the concept his full endorsement, calling it a \u201chuge risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he understands both the objective and the issue, but he\u2019d \u201cprefer to see incentives\u201d rather than having the government running grocery stores.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really concerned about us being all things to all people, quite frankly, and not being successful at it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Toronto Councillor Anthony Perruzza is pushing for city-run grocery stores.<\/p>\n
\u2018Terrible idea\u2019<\/p>\n
A fellow Scarborough councillor, Paul Ainslie, was more enthusiastic but warned the idea needed \u201csome additional consultation.\u201d<\/p>\n
He told those in the council chambers that before entering politics, he spent some 20 years in the food sector, much of that in distribution. He said he had \u201csome concerns\u201d with a meagre four-store model.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a whole discussion we can have around food costs,\u201d Ainslie said, \u201cbut I would like to hear from some industry experts on what the opportunities are for (them) to deliver this, because food security in this city is a huge issue that we need to deal with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holyday, however, was no fan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that this is a terrible idea and I think that this is a poor use of resources, and we shouldn\u2019t even be talking about it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He suggested running a grocery store would be easier said than done. If somebody shopped around, Holyday said, it\u2019s likely \u201cthe prices are not that far apart\u201d on staples such as milk or potatoes \u2014 the sort of food that might be the focus of a municipally run outlet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if you begin to compare apples to apples \u2014 literally \u2014 from store to store, you\u2019re going to find out \u2026 I don\u2019t think that the government could possibly run this more efficiently than the private sector does,\u201d Holyday said.<\/p>\n
While Chow lauded the idea as \u201cinnovative,\u201d it was the second signature policy by the new mayor of New York City, the avowed socialist Zohran Mamdani, that Toronto city council adopted on Thursday. The city will also soon have to figure out a paid snow shovelling program<\/a>, thanks to a proposal by Chow.<\/p>\n