Thursday October 15, 2014 – 11am
Posted Oct 16, 2014 01:46:38 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
11:00- The Cost of Crime in Canada
Christiane Sadler, Executive Director, Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
Despite a decline in the crime rate, crime cost Canadians $85 billion in 2009 (the latest year with comprehensive data) including $47 billion incurred by crime victims, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. The Cost of Crime in Canada: 2014 Report, measures the overall costs of police, courts, prisons, rehabilitation and education. And the varied costs incurred by crime victims due to stolen or damaged property, crime prevention, lost health and productivity, and less tangible costs associated with anger, frustration and fear. “Unfortunately crime is a fact of life, but to understand whether we spend too little or too much on fighting crime, we need to understand the full costs,” said Easton. Although the Canadian crime rate fell 27 per cent between 2002 and 2012, crime costs increased dramatically. For example, policing costs jumped 43% from $8 billion in 2002 to $11.5 billion in 2012, while corrections costs (prison, parole, etc.) rose 32% from $3.6 billion to $4.8 billion over the same period. Additionally, the cost of legal aid for people who can’t afford legal representation in criminal cases rose from $322.1 million (2012 dollars) in 2002 to $430.7 million in 2012.
11:30- The Grocery Stores Death
Sylvain Charlesbois, Professor of Food Distribution and Policy at the University of Guelph
For years, traditional grocery stores have provided Canadians with a place to stock up on that basic requirement for life: food. But these days, the model that emerged a half century ago might not last for another 50 years, according to Sylvain Charlebois, professor in food distribution and policy at the College of Management and Economics for the University of Guelph. In an opinion piece published in The Globe and Mail, Charlebois posited that several “key metrics are telling us that the days of the typical grocery store are numbered.” His first example is Loblaw’s move into non-food products as part of its business model. The country’s number-one food retailer might even start a drive-thru business. Walmart is one reason why traditional supermarkets are looking to expand into other areas. With its supercenters, the discount retailer has captured nearly 10% of the Canadian market, with its eye on becoming the top retailer in Canada, much like it is in the United States. Online shopping has also made inroads into the market share formerly held by traditional grocers. Amazon has enlarged its food offerings in San Francisco and Los Angeles, with the possibility of piloting similar programs in Canada, among other countries. “Customization will become an important driver moving forward, which means that specialty stores, once written off by many, may have a future after all,” wrote Charlebois. “Ethnicity and food trends are game-changers as well.” While the future will still have large supermarkets, Charlebois predicted that no longer would one model have clear dominance in the market place, but those numbers will decrease as other retailers fill food niches.
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