A group that speaks for small grocery stores says the convoy of truckers protesting government mandates isn’t helping store shelves.
Gary Sands, the Senior Vice President of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, says ongoing issues caused by COVID-19 along the entire supply chain are contributing factors.
Sands says now is a bad time to do anything that makes it harder for people to get what they need.
“Whether it’s the trucker mandate or having a convoy that’s snarling traffic and everything, we just don’t think that’s the right time to do this,” Sands.
Sands says we’re in the midst of supply shortages, labour shortages, winter weather and some grocery stores seeing prices increase by as much as 35 per cent.
He says a protest convoy blocking traffic across the country isn’t helping alleviate that.
“Our view is that it should be a food convoy, not a Freedom Convoy,” says Sands.
Sands says the federation supports vaccines for truckers and anyone working within the food supply chains, but it was also the wrong time for the government to drop the exception for unvaccinated truck drivers.
He says we seem to be at the peak of the Omicron wave, and in just a few weeks, the food supply should be much more stable than it is now.
The hardest foods to keep in stock? Fresh fruits and vegetables, soups, cereals, and spices.
However, Sands says it’s not a reason to panic buy.
He says shelves will have what you need again soon, and overbuying just makes the supply issues worse.
