this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2024
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Canada

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[–] [email protected] 112 points 3 months ago (6 children)

It's a game of monopoly and we're all losing.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 3 months ago

✨capitalism✨

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 months ago

We should have our wealthy play hungry hungry hippos. As in we toss them into a marsh with 4 hungry hippos.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

If you’re playing monopoly, isn’t everyone a loser? 😝

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Sigh. I hate myself.

— Actually yes! That was the point of the original game.

the landlords game

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[–] [email protected] 72 points 3 months ago (4 children)

Oh no, it's not a monopoly. It's an oligopoly. It's like exactly the same except it's completely legal.

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[–] [email protected] 70 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Fuckin Loblaws selling " Presidents Choice" food in a country with no President. Except the President of Loblaws ... Basically the coup already happened.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Historically, the name came from Dave Nichol, who was president of the company for decades. He actually had a very strong hand in the selection of products that were included in the product line.

Apparently all kinds of people would pitch product ideas at him, and would taste test them and pick only ones he liked. The idea of "President's Choice" wasn't to be cheapo no name products, but unique and distinctive stuff personally picked by the company's president.

And Dave wasn't just some guy in the corner office. In his prime he was a Canadian personality, and you saw him in TV commercials. Once he left Loblaws in the '90s the President's Choice stuff lost its panache and meaning.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago

If he could get away with it, he'd rename is Peasant's Choice.

Oh wait. He probably can get away with it.

[–] [email protected] 48 points 3 months ago (6 children)

I heard a theory years ago, that the cellphone companies divided Canada up. Each company gets to be market leader in their region.

Sounds very anti-competitive to me.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 months ago (7 children)

That’s exactly how cable works in the States, you only have one real choice depending on where you live. If you try and cancel over their atrocious service there’s a very real chance they’ll ask what other choices you think you have.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago (1 children)

All the smart cable companies make most of their revenue from cable internet now; what remains of cable TV is propped up by a minority of older people who refuse to get with the times or relatively well-off folks who just don't care.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago

Me, constantly telling my dad he doesn’t need to spend $300 a month to be brainwashed by mainstream media lmao

Just brainwash yourself on YouTube 🤷🏼‍♂️

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 months ago

Susan Crawford wrote on and talked about this (mis)handling of telecoms in the US context years ago, the government letting the companies divide regions up and ensure a lack of competition.

My reading of the situation in Canada for internet and wireless is that it was a historical mix of:

  • lacking political will/interest to govern from day one
  • a policy of letting the free market run until it’s a major problem
  • follow the US lead for anything new
  • and support the (then) recently de-regulated incumbent (Bell) to dominate
  • give competitive advantages to Canadian companies vs allowing foreign competition even if it means worse outcomes for Canadian consumers (better to protect the Canadian economy from foreign interests than to ensure consumer best interests).
[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

Didn't a Telus exec confirm this publicly? It's a little more than a theory.

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I always heard "Canada is three mining companies standing on eachother's shoulders in a trechcoat."

Although that one applies equally to Australia.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 months ago (2 children)

It is more like an oil company, a mining company, and a logging company all on each others shoulders in a trenchcoat

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago (2 children)

and two cell phone companies hanging off the torso pretending they are arms .... and a big giant dong of a grocery store hanging off the groin.

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 3 months ago

Bit of a stretch to say they're rivals.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Then you got neat little fiefdoms too, like Irvingland - whoops, I mean New Brunswick.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

Probably wanna delete this before the Irvings put a hit out on you

[–] [email protected] 27 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Until Bell decides to snuff it out. They'll use their "legal" division (aka the CRTC) to outlaw it and no-one will squawk about it because: if you control the media, you control 'the people's' voice. We live in the shittiest timeline.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Lol. It's a crown corporation and WILDLY popular. No one will squawk? Any party would not withstanding that shit immediately because it's popular, and then just wrap it in their party-specific words.

The LAST thing Bell wants is to draw national attention to how well a provincial offering is. The LAST thing they want is for people to see that there are alternative structures that are working for other Canadians.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I’m sure the conservatives will continue trying to figure out a way to push it to withering and crumbling… they definitely tried to sell off/privatize chunks of them in the past but the level of outrage they were met with has put those ideas to bed for the time being

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago

It's a tough fight for them because of how familiar the population is with those corps.

Lab services in Sask have bounced between private and public several times... Nobody really notices (which is sad IMO)

But SGI and SaskTel... Everyone is a client, and everyone can look over any provincial border and go "whoa, don't wanna end up like them".

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

"This part of the Crown corporation is profitable on its own, we should sell it off!"

"Why are we spending so much money to subsidize this Crown corporation!? We should sell it off!"

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

And then bell asks us why we’re depressed.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 months ago (1 children)

when you try the American experiment in a country with the population of California

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 months ago

sorry about that by the way

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Hey, we have checks and balances in place.

The Senate is occupied by two railroads.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Hey now... let's not forget AirCanada.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

We also have a senate, consisting of appointed large dairy farmers.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 months ago (4 children)

In Australia it’s 2 supermarkets and 4 banks.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

4 separate companies in one sector

Cannot relate.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago (1 children)

And a coffee shop which is widely loved but functionally is just a powerless figurehead.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago (6 children)

Not Canadian… yet. How close I am to citizenship?

  1. Rogers

  2. ????

  3. Lobslaw

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Lobslaw 🤣🤔🤣🤔🤣

I'm keeping that one.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

I suppose that’s one point against citizenship lol

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Really crazy how Irving's don't get a mention.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago (2 children)

As a Canadian, what the hell is an Irving?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Closest thing Canada has to royal family. They own the east coast.

I grew up in Ontario. Never heard of them. Then I moved out east and holy fuck it was crazy how I never heard of this family. They own everything in the maritimes. Them and the McCain's(french fry McCain's).

It's to the point that the Maritimes feel like a factory town and most of Canada never heard of them. Might have something to do with how they own all media out there too.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

Wait but Joe Rogan told me it's governed by a communist, I don't know what that is but it can't be good

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago (2 children)
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[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

They're not rivals.

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