Ottawa urging Provinces to help fight food inflation

Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Francois-Philippe Champagne the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry met with their provincial and territorial counterparts on Monday.

The focus of the meeting was to talk about stabilizing food prices across the country.

The pair stressed the need for greater cooperation between Ottawa and the provinces to fight food inflation. 

As part of the meeting, the Competition Bureau shared the results from its " Canada Needs More Grocery Competition" study which concluded that more needs to be done to improve competition in the grocery industry.

Some of the recommendations in that study include taking steps to encourage greater competition through the entry of international grocers, the growth of independent players, and the introduction of accessible and harmonized unit pricing. 

MacAulay also focused on the Grocery Sector Code of Conduct which is viewed as a way to bring fairness, transparency, and stability to the grocery sector and supply chain. 

He issued a statement earlier with Quebec's Minister of Agriculture saying that after years of work, broad consultations, and unprecedented engagement across the grocery supply chain, it is disappointing to see that supply chain partners are hesitant to move forward.

He notes at a time when Canadian families are struggling with the cost of food, we need the major grocers and all supply chain partners to adopt and adhere to the Code.

Some supply chain partners, including two of the five major retailers, have indicated that they will not sign on to the Code.