Brucie, et al, Wal-Mart has been in Canada for quite a while. There was a big scandal about 15(?) years ago, when they were opening a store in Vancouver, and wanted to have a gun department. They apparently weren't aware of the laws in the country in which they planned to operate!

Just as in the States, Wal-Mart has been putting merchants out of business, particularly in smaller towns and cities. They build a strip mall just outside the town (cheaper taxes), plant themselves as the anchor business, and suddenly everyone in the town is shopping at the mall.

I've been in a Wal-Mart store once -- there's one in my town. It's a funny, funny story -- I have a Mexican daughter-in-law whose parents are multi-millionaires. A few years ago when the parents were here for Christmas, we exchanged gifts with them. Mine was a cheap, tacky, shapeless shirt from Wal-Mart, which I returned after Christmas as it was too big and I didn't like it. The clerk started to ring up a refund of $10, but a supervisor said it had been on sale before Christmas, and was only worth $7.50. I washed the money, then gave it to charity!

No, I don't like Wal-Mart. I wish people didn't focus only on money. If people are poor, I guess Wal-Mart is a good thing, but boy are they ever greedy and ruthless in their business dealings.