(Ottawa) Summoned to Ottawa by the Trudeau government, the bosses of the five major grocery store chains were stingy with comments following their meeting in the federal capital on Monday. For his part, the Minister of Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, assured that they were committed to supporting the federal government at the end of this “historic” meeting.
Even if the discussions were “constructive”, although “difficult”, the leaders of the large supermarket chains agreed to support the government in its desire to curb the increase in the price of the grocery basket, the minister welcomed Champagne at a press briefing in parliament on Monday.
They will have to come up with a plan by Thanksgiving, as ordered by Ottawa, and if their proposals are inadequate, the threat of federal fiscal intervention remains, he reiterated, announcing that he planned to meet with food manufacturers this week.
The minister even went so far as to suggest that the revolt could be “international”, since Canada is not the only country where consumers are hit hard by food price inflation – a reality to which the major grocers say they are sensitive.
“We need to stabilize prices,” said Sobeys/Empire boss Michael Medline. Without wanting to go further, he affirmed that the meeting with the Minister of Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, and the Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, had been “productive”.
Echoing these comments, the boss of Metro, Éric La Flèche, also swore that grocers worked “hard every day to reduce prices as much as possible”. But the fact is that “it’s a supply chain, and we are the last link in that chain,” he argued.
“Prices are going up for suppliers, farmers, everyone. Everyone experiences inflation. We are at the end of the chain, and that is why retail prices have increased,” added Mr. La Flèche, emphasizing that the profit margins of large grocers are not have not increased.
The three other executives who had been summoned to Ottawa – Galen Weston of Loblaws, Gonzalo Gebara of Walmart Canada and the Costco representative – slipped out of the building where the meeting was taking place. When they arrived, they flew by without saying a word.
Minister Freeland stopped to make a brief statement to journalists. “Our government will do everything in [its] power so that prices can stabilize,” she said before hurrying to rush into the government building.
Criticized from all sides for his inaction in the face of rising food prices, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last Thursday summoned the bosses of major grocery chains until Thanksgiving to develop a plan to reduce prices of the grocery basket.
“The inflation rate has fallen, but the bill is still too high for food. Meanwhile, major grocery chains are making record profits. These profits should not be made on the backs of people who earn money to feed their families,” the Prime Minister lamented.
And if they fail to come up with satisfactory solutions, the government will crack down, he warned: “Let me be very clear: if their plan does not provide real relief […], well, we will take action . We are not excluding anything, including tax measures.”
Among the opposition parties, skepticism reigns.
“Do I think grocery stores are making too much profit? It’s obvious they’re making more money than they should! This is what happens when governments print money and cause inflation,” said Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on the eve of the start of Parliament on Sunday.
He mocked the summons of supermarket chain bosses; according to him, we are witnessing nothing more than a “public relations operation”, a “political theater” staged by an “actor” who should rather take “actions”, he mocked, referring to to Justin Trudeau.
“Asking CEOs like Galen Weston to stop raising prices is like asking Pierre Poilievre to tackle the climate crisis. We all know that this will not happen and that it is just a show,” quipped New Democrat Alistair MacGregor in a press release on Monday.
New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh is expected to table a private member’s bill this afternoon “aimed at ending the privileges of CEOs of grocery chains and lowering food prices for Canadians.”
Among the skeptics are also agricultural companies and food processors, as reported last Friday by the Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA) and the Food Transformation Council of Quebec (CTAQ).
“The discussion envisaged by the Prime Minister will not result in lasting and lasting solutions if the financial pressure experienced by the first two links in the food chain is not taken into account quickly,” declared the President in a press release. general of the UPA, Martin Caron.
