The Probus Club of Halifax regularly meets at the Fairview Legion on the third Thursday of the month. Probus is not a service club but rather a group of retired people who get together monthly to hear interesting speakers. We gather at the Fairview Legion on the morning of the third Thursday of the month, then have time for coffee and chat before the meeting begins. The key focus of the meeting is to listen to interesting speakers.
However, in June, the third Thursday of the month has become the day for the President’s Luncheon. This follows the same format as the regular meeting, but we meet at a different venue, in recent years at Brightwood Golf Club, making this a special meeting. On June 15, our guest speaker was Sylvain Charlebois, a food economist. His talk was titled “The Hunger Games: how big grocers are winning at the expense of local alternatives and the future of food prices.” As you might expect, all those present were interested in this topic.
He said that statistics tell us that due to the rising cost of food, people are wasting less food and are more inclined to buy cheaper brands of food. On the other hand, the carbon tax, which he sees as a necessary evil, will mean the cost of food will continue to rise.
Mr. Charlebois asked for a show of hands from those who felt that the grocery chains were price gouging, and most people raised their hand. He went on to tell us that even though chains such as Loblaws are making money, their profit mostly comes from prescription drugs, clothing, make up and rent from properties they own, not on food!
That is certainly not to deny the high cost of food we all see in the grocery stores. Is it a consolation that in Canada, our inflation rate is one of the lowest in the world, at 8%? Is it a comfort to know that Canada is number 1 in the world for food safety and that costs money? We certainly had lots to contemplate and discuss after that talk. After listening to our guest speaker, our president, Don Shubaly, recognized Terry Simms, a charter member of the club, for his work with Probus throughout the province. Terry was instrumental in forming not only the Probus Club of Halifax but went on to work with teams forming the Probus Club of Dartmouth, Probus Club of Cobequid) and Probus Club of Annapolis Valley. In fact, a manual he wrote on how to form a Probus Club is now used across Canada. Probus clubs in Nova Scotia would not exist if it weren’t for Terry. The President’s Luncheon was the right venue to express thanks to Terry Simms.
Terry reminded us that one of the most enjoyable aspects of Probus is that once you join, there is no commitment. Make no mistake, however, there are various activities that members can enjoy and a member of one club is welcome to attend other clubs.
If you are interested in joining Probus, email probusclubhlfx@gamil.com. New members are welcome.
