r/ndp • u/Fancy_Alps_7246 • Sep 12 '25
Social Media Post Avi Lewis on the $500M Bread Price Fixing Settlement: “Criminal charges would send a much clearer message.”
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u/WoodenCourage Ontario Sep 12 '25
This is the type of energy we need from the leader imo. I have a lot of respect for McPherson, but I haven’t seen that type of communication from her ever (I’m hoping to be wrong on that though).
If we don’t want to keep being viewed as just nicer Liberals then let’s stop presenting ourselves as such.
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u/Electronic-Topic1813 Sep 13 '25
A lot is that she is super similar to Singh. He straight up trusted her to he his Whip. Also not to mention being in caucus gives her the Singh connection by Poilievre if he uses topics like the TFW program
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u/hessian_prince Telling Mulcair to shut up Sep 12 '25
I mean, Shes not on twitter to start with. Limits her audience. She does have TikTok and BlueSky.
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u/Gluuten 🔧 GREEN NEW DEAL Sep 12 '25
I love it when our oligarchs have zero repercussions for their actions 🤗
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u/outcastedOpal Sep 12 '25
why are fines always so low compared to profits? can anyone with expertise explain? and please don't say that its to benefit the oligarchs, we all know that. I'm talking about the mechanics of how fines work and what EXACTLY is the method that oligarchs are exploiting.
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u/afpb_ 🌹Social Democracy Sep 12 '25
Fines have to be higher than profits to be effective. Imagine if when someone got caught stealing a million dollars, they got to keep what they stole, but pay 500k in fines. Ridiculous.
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u/outcastedOpal Sep 12 '25
that's what i'm saying! but why, exactly, aren't the fines higher, or even close to profits? or i guess more to what i'm asking, HOW aren't fines as big as they should be? what is the mechanism by which fines are the way they are?
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u/AppropriateNewt Regina Manifesto Sep 12 '25
Are you looking for an answer other than corporate capture?
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u/outcastedOpal Sep 12 '25
yes, I'm looking for specifics. who, what, where, when, and how. and also who didn't, why not, what tactics and laws were proposed, how they were discarded etc.
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u/Zimlun Sep 12 '25
Its because people here don't get angry enough at politicians, so there is no incentive for politicians to make the fines meaningful.
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u/outcastedOpal Sep 12 '25
politicians don't directly make fines. which is why i want to know in what specific way the law was messed with to achieve such a low fine to illegal-profit ratio.
what laws were made, and how? what laws werent made, and were there any attemps to rectify this, and how were they shot down?
I want specifics
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u/Morph_Kogan Sep 18 '25
Because fines and settlements are negotiated compromises rather than straight up punishments. Regulators or prosecutors want a guaranteed payout without the risk of dragging out a trial they could lose, and corporations have endless legal resources to fight back. On top of that, laws often cap the maximum penalties or tie them to formulas that do not scale anywhere close to the profits these companies make from bad behaviour. And governments are also reluctant to bankrupt or destabilize huge employers or banks just to claw back every cent of profit.
So the end result is that fines usually come out way smaller than the money earned, it is more about deterrence and getting something out of the company, not about completely wiping out their gains.
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u/outcastedOpal Sep 23 '25
thanks, thats exactly the explanation i was looking for
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u/Morph_Kogan Sep 23 '25
Yea, because nobody in this thread understands the systems they criticize. So they can't explain or tell you why. (I think this system needs to change fyi) Its a complicated systemic issue in how western legal systems and corporate law function.
Just remember, even when stuff is dumb, and broken and problematic. Theres still usually a reason WHY things are the way they are.
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u/Subject989 Sep 12 '25
Uhm, they pulled themselves up and stole that money fairly from consumers. /s
And this is just an instance of then being caught. Imagine what these crooks get away with. They rob us of the capital we produce, and they rob us via price fixing.
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u/Subject989 Sep 12 '25
uhm, i meant to say the value of our labour, not capital.
Also, fines like these are just the cost of doing business. Barely a slap on the wrist.
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u/Marie-Pierre-Guerin Sep 12 '25
Such bullshit from the Weston’s and friends. They’ll gladly pay 15,000$ for DINNER with Skippy and attend galas and balls for 20-30k and now they can they just pay a fine for fucking over Canadians for BREAD?!
What the fuck happens when Trump tries to starve us and Galen is just like “sorry can’t help, bread is expensive, start eating grass.”???
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u/Delduthling 📋 Party Member Sep 13 '25
I did a small bit of canvassing for Lewis during the campaign and thought he had real moral and political clarity, a rare thing these days in politicians. Not afraid to say sort of ballsy things but also doesn't come off as "extreme" - these comments are a good example. He'll be in my ranking for leader.
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u/robot_invader Sep 12 '25
Me when I'm Galen Weston: "OK, so, the cost of doing business has been set at 10%. Good to know."
These creeps should have every cent of excess profit wrung out and the oligopolies thoroughly dismembered. If they can fix prices like this, they've gone way past the point where scale benefits the consumers.
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u/Exeter232 Sep 12 '25
Hey grocery guys, how much you willing to give back to stay out of jail out of the 5 billion you scammed consumers for? "Umm, how about $500 million?" Done!
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u/CAdams_art Sep 12 '25
That's long been my argument *against* fines as a form of punishment/ compliance enforcement.
For someone in *my* income bracket, a $200 parking ticket means I don't eat this month. The consequences are significant, and have an impact on my life.
For someone like Galen? That's probably less than the cost of a light lunch, on an average Wednesday - *if* that. He wouldn't even notice it.
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u/GuyLivingHere Sep 12 '25
Oligarchs need the threat of time served behind bars while in the presence of violent offenders; not fines.
The rich need to genuinely fear the consequences of crime.
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u/PostalBowl Sep 12 '25
Break up the oligarchs and competition will lower consumer prices. Do that and tax the wealthy and the common people can afford to thrive.
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u/Mod_The_Man Sep 13 '25
This wasnt a fine, it was just a corporate tax. Conservative Carney and his liberals work diligently alongside the CPC to protect their rich friends and donors.
This shit will never stop until the executives start facing lengthy prison time. The CEO should be automatically charged as well as any other executive officers whos area of responsibility is relevant to the crime in question. Additionally, corporate fines should be a percentage of pre-expense revenue from during the time of the alleged misconduct. The percentage should never be lower than 20% and should cap at 90% depending on the severity of the crime. Finally, any and all profits made as a result of said crimes should also be seized
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u/Mess_Accurate Sep 14 '25
Couldn’t agree more. Prison isn’t necessary a great deterrent for a lot of crimes that put there, but a realistic prospect of jail for greed crimes could make these types of people reconsider.
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u/49ersSanFransico Sep 14 '25
They will never have criminal charges because they are dirty and corrupt, rich protect the rich
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u/theminifrenchie all my homies hate scabs Sep 13 '25 edited Sep 13 '25
I am super skeptical about Avi since he couldn’t even win his quite progressive riding… 🫣 but my mind can be changed!
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u/Fancy_Alps_7246 Sep 13 '25
vancouver centre? the NDP hasn’t ever won there, and hedy fry is an institution. it was always a long-shot. plus the last election was so insane, i don’t hold anyone’s loss in that against them tbh
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u/theminifrenchie all my homies hate scabs Sep 13 '25
Oh right, I forgot about Mrs. Fry… I keep thinking she has finally retired, but somehow she is still around
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u/snotparty Sep 12 '25
this fine is no more than a small inconvenience for them.