Within weeks of the coronavirus pandemic being declared, one premier after another made tough promises to stop price gouging on essential products. Yet, CBC’s Marketplace has learned that despite tens of thousands of reported complaints, little legal action has been taken across the country.
Marketplace reached out to all provinces and territories and was told consumer complaints to government only led to one business being charged. It’s unclear how many, if any, charges were laid by local bylaw officers.
A business in Alberta selling personal protective equipment at high prices — $39 for hand sanitizer and $120 for masks — was issued multiple written warnings and orders to lower prices before being formally charged by Service Alberta with failing to comply with a director’s order under the Consumer Protection Act. The company pleaded guilty in September and was fined $1,500.
This, despite tough talk from a number of premiers.
“We’ve put in place restrictions on price gouging,” B.C. Premier John Horgan announced in May.
“We’re gonna go after you, and throw the book at you,” Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said in April.
“You’re done, you’re gone…. If you’re convicted, you could face … a year in jail,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in March.
Every province, aside from Quebec and New Brunswick, has a law prohibiting price gouging. But these laws simply state sellers cannot sell goods for prices that “grossly” exceed market prices. There is no federal, provincial or territorial law in Canada limiting price markups on consumer goods during a state of emergency.
Many U.S. states have such legislation. For example, in California, product and service prices cannot increase by more than 10 per cent once an emergency is declared. Kansas limits price increases to 25 per cent.
Provinces confirmed that the majority of price-gouging complaints received were about personal protective equipment and other essential products like disinfecting wipes, toilet paper and paper towels.
Data gathered by Statistics Canada for Marketplace shows that the price of disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer and toilet paper had reached higher-than-average prices during the pandemic.
WATCH | What happened to the promised crackdown on pandemic price gouging?
Canadians have been complaining for months about pandemic-driven price gouging for all kinds of essentials, from hand sanitizer to toilet paper, but Marketplace discovered there’s been hardly any legal action taken by the government despite a promised crackdown. 2:00
April saw the largest price spikes for toilet paper, the product that made headlines around the world when people started hoarding it. Prices averaged $9.41 for 12 rolls. The price has since returned back to normal averages, around $6.70.
The average price of hand sanitizer shot up in May, nearly $3 more than in previous years. June showed the price of hand sanitizer lowering, but still higher than average.
Since March, the average price of 35 disinfecting wipes has been higher than $3. Prior to March, the price averaged around $2.43 per pack.
No charges in Ontario investigations
Ontario received the highest number of price-gouging complaints — about 29,500 — after a campaign to promote the province’s price-gouging hotline.
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To date, Ontario has referred around 900 of those complaints to law enforcement. Marketplace reached out to all police services the province said it forwarded complaints to. Each service confirmed no charges had been laid.
Alberta and B.C., which received the most complaints after Ontario, as well as Ontario would not confirm the criteria to refer complaints for further investigation by law enforcement or special task forces.
In a statement, Ontario said revealing that benchmark could compromise investigations. Alberta and B.C. cited the difficulty in determining what is actually price gouging and what is a reasonable cost change due to the current market.
Premiers John Horgan, Doug Ford and Jason Kenney made big promises to fight price gouging during the pandemic, but enforcement agencies say few fines have been issued. (The Canadian Press)
Enforcement agencies told Marketplace that most complaints were either unfounded, or resulted in a warning to the business, which then lowered the price on the products in question.
In written statements to Marketplace, both Alberta and B.C.’s consumer protection agencies wrote that the priority is educating and advising businesses to encourage voluntary compliance. This would also avert a needless months-long investigation, Alberta’s Ministry of Service wrote.
Ontario also said it sent out 1,650 notification letters to businesses, and is taking “decisive action” against retailers that charge excessive prices.
Manufacturer says price of some hand sanitizers ‘obscene’
Paul Kowdrysh, president and CEO at Protair-X Solutions Group, a hand sanitizer manufacturer, said that he’s had to increase his prices by about 23 per cent due to rising costs. This lowered his profit margin, he said.
“I don’t think, in a time of need and a time of crisis, that you need to make the same margin you’ve made in the past,” he said.
Marketplace showed Kowdrysh multiple hand sanitizers for sale during the pandemic.
Kowdrysh called a 500 ml bottle for sale from a Guardian Pharmacy for $19.99 “obscene.”
Marketplace found one of the most expensive hand sanitizers on Walmart.ca – $18.99 for 70ml. Comparing costs per litre of all products, that translates to $271.29/litre compared to average costs of $29.44/litre in Canada in May 2020. (Wendy Martinez/CBC)
“That’s extremely expensive for that size of product,” he said. Guardian Pharmacy told Marketplace the price was a result of scarcity at the time.
Kowdrysh’s own prices were inflated at a Nations in Toronto — one litre selling for $34.99.
“I am very surprised,” he said. “That’s unacceptable as far as I’m concerned.”
Kowdrysh told Marketplace he subsequently stopped selling to the distributor that he said over-priced his products.
Marketplace reached out to Nations about selling his product at such a markup, and the company said the higher prices were a result of products being difficult to acquire, and to maintain profit margins.
Paper towel price hikes
Statistics Canada confirmed that in April 2020, the average price of a package of six paper towel rolls increased to its highest price — $9.54 — since at least January 2017, when the average price was $5.69.
In April, paper towel shelves across Canada were bare as consumers scrambled to stock up. After crunching numbers for Marketplace, Statistics Canada confirmed paper towel prices were the highest they’d been in recent years. (Bobby Hristova/CBC)
For small businesses, those increases could be detrimental.
Saga, a tattoo artist based in Calgary who goes by only one name, could be paying thousands of dollars more annually for paper towels alone.
“I do a lot of colour tattoos, really large tattoos,” said Saga. “So in a day, sometimes I can use three, sometimes six full rolls of paper towels.”
Heather Ashley, who shops for Saga’s supplies, told Marketplace that she’s had to shop around a lot more. “One day I actually had to go to three separate stores,” she said. “The exact same amount of paper towels … a six-pack … ranged from $6.99 upwards to $16.99.”
Mendoza, owner of Grapevine Tattoo in Vancouver who also is known only by one name, has concerns about price increases on products too. Just before the pandemic he was purchasing masks for his artists at pennies per mask. When Marketplace spoke with him in May, prices sat at around a dollar per mask.
Mendoza estimates that the increased costs in masks, hand sanitizer, plexiglass and other pandemic essentials will add $10,000 to $20,000 to his annual operating costs.
“It costs more for everybody to do their job,” he said. “It’s been definitely a big shock to the system.”
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
NEW YORK (AP) — When her husband turns on the television to hear news about the upcoming presidential election, that’s often a signal for Lori Johnson Malveaux to leave the room.
It can get to be too much. Often, she’ll go to a TV in another room to watch a movie on the Hallmark Channel or BET. She craves something comforting and entertaining. And in that, she has company.
While about half of Americans say they are following political news “extremely” or “very” closely, about 6 in 10 say they need to limit how much information they consume about the government and politics to avoid feeling overloaded or fatigued, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts.
Make no mistake: Malveaux plans to vote. She always does. “I just get to the point where I don’t want to hear the rhetoric,” she said.
The 54-year-old Democrat said she’s most bothered when she hears people on the news telling her that something she saw with her own eyes — like the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — didn’t really happen.
“I feel like I’m being gaslit. That’s the way to put it,” she said.
Sometimes it feels like ‘a bombardment’
Caleb Pack, 23, a Republican from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who works in IT, tries to keep informed through the news feeds on his phone, which is stocked with a variety of sources, including CNN, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press.
Yet sometimes, Pack says, it seems like a bombardment.
“It’s good to know what’s going on, but both sides are pulling a little bit extreme,” he said. “It just feels like it’s a conversation piece everywhere, and it’s hard to escape it.”
Media fatigue isn’t a new phenomenon. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2019 found roughly two in three Americans felt worn out by the amount of news there is, about the same as in a poll taken in early 2018. During the 2016 presidential campaign, about 6 in 10 people felt overloaded by campaign news.
But it can be particularly acute with news related to politics. The AP-NORC/USAFacts poll found that half of Americans feel a need to limit their consumption of information related to crime or overseas conflicts, while only about 4 in 10 are limiting news about the economy and jobs.
It’s easy to understand, with television outlets like CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC full of political talk and a wide array of political news online, sometimes complicated by disinformation.
“There’s a glut of information,” said Richard Coffin, director of research and advocacy for USAFacts, “and people are having a hard time figuring out what is true or not.”
Women are more likely to feel they need to limit media
In the AP-NORC poll, about 6 in 10 men said they follow news about elections and politics at least “very” closely, compared to about half of women. For all types of news, not just politics, women are more likely than men to report the need to limit their media consumption, the survey found.
White adults are also more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to say they need to limit media consumption on politics, the poll found.
Kaleb Aravzo, 19, a Democrat, gets a baseline of news by listening to National Public Radio in the morning at home in Logan, Utah. Too much politics, particularly when he’s on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram, can trigger anxiety and depression.
“If it pops up on my page when I’m on social media,” he said, “I’ll just scroll past it.”
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Sanders reported from Washington. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.
The AP poll of 1,019 adults was conducted July 29-August 8, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
