Competition Bureau Canada (CBC) has announced it’s investigating the Canadian food industry looking for, “competition factors affecting food affordability.” And all Canadians have a chance to contribute their two cents on the issues…
The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency that protects and promotes com-petition for the benefit of Canadian consumers and businesses. As such, it is embarking upon, “an examination of competition across Canada’s food supply chain.”
The lay of the land…
But the Bureau stresses it’s not a criminal probe – yet. More like an expedition to ‘get the lay of the land’… “This examination is not a law enforcement investigation and is not about any specific com-plaint or allegation of wrongdoing. However, if the Bureau finds evidence of anti-competitive behav-iour, it will investigate and take appropriate action.” Fair enough…
Interim Commissioner of Competition Jeanne Pratt said, in a statement: “The cost of food matters to all Canadians, and strong competition can help keep prices in check. Our examination builds on our earlier work in the retail grocery sector and will look at all parts of the food supply chain. If you have experience in any sector along that supply chain, we want to hear from you. Your input will help us find solutions that support competition and affordability.”
What the probe will do
The Bureau’s examination will look for potential competition issues in three key areas:
- Production and processing, including how food is grown, caught, transformed and packaged;
- Transportation and distribution, including how food moves to retailers across Canada; and
- Retail pricing practices, including loyalty programs, pricing algorithms, shrinkflation and skimpflation.
Your two cents
“The Bureau is seeking input from Canadians and organizations with experience in the food supply chain. They are invited to share their views through our online form by July 31, 2026. The Bureau will also meet with groups and hold roundtable discussions in the coming months to determine where competition is not working well, where there are barriers, and what could help improve competition.”
My interpretation is that we, as consumers, constitute the ‘last mile’ of the food supply chain. So we qualify for a say, too. Give the issue a good, long think, and then click on the link immediately above and air it!
My take
It’s about freakin’ time! I’ve been calling for government intervention on food prices since the Canada Grocery Code was finalized, committing the Big 5 supermarket chains to do something substantive about food prices. Nothing has been done that’s lowered retail prices. Nothing.
It’s past time to take the issue of high food prices into independent hands and formulate new laws and regulations guaranteeing that no Canadian has to make the monthly decision whether to pay the electricty bill or pay the grocery bill. Food banks were intended to tide folks over in hard times. Now, for millions, they’re a way of life. Food prices remain relentlessly and mysteriously high. And the big supermarket chains continue to report double-digit profits every quarter…
You can bet your bottom dollar – if you haven’t already handed it over to the grocery store – that we’ll be following this new probe with meticulous scrutiny…
Maggie J.