The federal government will continue to put pressure on grocers to stabilize prices, according to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.
Earlier this month, François-Phillippe Champagne demanded action from large grocery chains including discounts, price freezes and price matching campaigns.
“They’re continuing to push them to provide plans by November 2nd, “Obviously every organization will have their own version because they want to compete with the other, but what we’re going to be measuring and what we’re preparing to put public is the outcome of their actions. We’ve been very clear. If we don’t see meaningful results, we’re going to take more actions, to make sure that we protect the interests of Canadians,” he says.
A motion from the NDP passed last week, calling the CEOs back to the Agriculture and Agri-Food committee to answer questions about why food prices continue to be sky-high.
In early October, Champagne met with the heads of Loblaw, Sobeys, Metro, Costco and Walmart to discuss price stabilization.
Champagne says grocery stores responded with promises of price freezing, discounts and price-matching campaigns.
