By Duck Paterson
These are interesting times. We are still stuck with COVID and innocent people are dying but folks are still not listening or believing it.
We seem to have the same problem in Victoria — I’m not talking about the city itself, but those who sit in the parliament buildings. It was really a heartfelt gesture when the B.C. government forced food delivery app companies to reduce fees… all those fees Door Dash and Skip The Dishes charge restaurants have been a huge draw on the income of the average B.C. family!
Because their outrageous charge is crippling the province, John Horgan decided the province will still limit what the delivery apps can charge — thank god for that. I was getting worried they were going to be able to jack up their prices, just like the oil and gas companies without the government getting involved, but I was wrong.
I guess the food delivery companies do more harm to the average working person than the price fixing Shell, Esso and Chevron do. In just over a year the price of a litre of gas has gone up 31 per cent… the largest increase in this country’s inflation rate, even more than the cost of food delivery.
We all know fossil fuels are damaging this planet we call home and we do need to start fixing it, but we also need to make ends meet. I’d like to know how many seniors on a fixed income are ecstatic about the cuts to food delivery costs. They are probably wondering why they have to pay for expensive medications and eyeglasses, but can save money on having their chow mien delivered.
I guess the families living paycheck to paycheck, just to pay rent and put food on the table, are relieved now that they can order pizza and only have to pay 15 per cent extra for delivery, instead of 30, thanks to the provincial government working on their behalf.
There is an issue here, but I guess controlling the cost of having dinner delivered is more important than a student being able to get to work or a single mom being able to pick the kids up from school because the price of gas is too high. It will make the yuppies in the lower mainland happy but does absolutely bugger all for small-town B.C.
What about the seniors who can’t afford an electric vehicle, but are stuck paying for dental, vision and life-saving prescriptions? I’m sure they can rest easier now that they know they can save when Door Dash brings them KFC — probably because they can’t afford the price of fuel to get there themselves.
I agree totally with the reduction in the use of fossil fuels, but I can’t agree with the elected government allowing the regular working family to be the victims of thievery by the oil and gas companies. The gouging of oil and gas prices doesn’t just hit drivers in the wallet, it hits us when we buy groceries, clothing and pretty well anything else. The trucking companies are being gouged just the same as we are, yet reducing the cost of food delivery seems to be more important to the province than helping the people that put them in office.