Miss something this week? Don't panic. CBC's Marketplace rounds up the consumer and health news you need. Want this in your inbox...
Miss something this week? Don't panic. CBC's Marketplace rounds up the consumer and health news you need.
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Too slow to shop at No Frills
A disabled woman in Alberta says she was banned from her local No Frills because she packed her groceries too slowly and staff refused to help. Linda Rolston told our colleagues at Go Public that after complaining to Loblaw, the store's parent company, it offered her $100 to stay quiet. "They can keep the $100. I'm going to tell anybody and continue with my human rights action."
Still spending money to support your adult kids?
You're not alone. A new RBC poll found the majority of parents provide financial help for their kids into their 30s. Parents are helping pay for education and living expenses averaging $5,623 a year. Nearly half of the respondents said they were also paying monthly cellphone bills.
Low-priced drugs on the way out
That's the warning from a report by Canada's drug price monitoring agency, which says the price of top-selling drugs has increased by 800 per cent in 10 years. The high prices are due to a combination of scientific discovery paired with tax incentives for companies to develop new medications.
New wireless rules could mean cheaper plans
The government is telling the CRTC to change its ways and focus more on what you want (cheaper wireless plans, anyone?). The economic development minister announced a new directive that would have the regulator focus more on competition and consumer interest. One analyst says if it's followed, it would open the market to new carriers and more options for consumers, resulting in lower prices.
What else is going on
A Toronto grocery store is trying to dump single-use plastics. Unboxed allowed customers to bring their own containers so they can buy the amount they need for products including milk, eggs, cleaning products and laundry detergent.
There's a new Tim Hortons overseas.The Canadian staple for coffee and doughnuts has started an expansion into China. The Shanghai shop is the first to open and offers Timmies favourites and unique items for Chinese customers.
A ban on trans fats isn't leading to healthier or greener solutions. The products replacing trans fats come with their own problems, including heart-blocking saturated fats and ecological problems because of large-scale deforestation.
The latest in recalls
These Our Compliments chicken nuggets could be contaminated with salmonella; the lithium ion batteries in these wireless speakers can overheat and this baby coverup doesn't meet meet flammability requirements for children's sleepwear.
Fed up with outrageous overpackaging?
After our last show on plastic waste, you sent us your worst examples. We're still looking for Canada's worst offenders, so we need you to see us more photos of the most outrageously overpackaged products you've ever seen.
Email us marketplace@cbc.ca
This week Marketplace investigates
Makda Ghebreslassie on testing baby food: Is arsenic lurking in your baby's rice?
Shopping for baby food? There's so much to choose from when it comes to cereals and and snacks. What you may not know is there could be something else in the mix — arsenic.
This week on Marketplace we buy many of your favourite brands and send them to Seattle's Brooks Applied Labs to test for arsenic.
Research shows the brands with rice have increased levels of the toxin, but how high are the levels and do some snacks and cereals have more arsenic than others?
Tune in to check out our full test results and to watch my interview with Health Canada's chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma.
by CBC News via CBC | Top Stories News
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