Oct 6, 2023
Canada's grocers want to squash competition as quickly as possible: expert
, BNN Bloomberg
If you're looking for help from Ottawa for lower food prices you won't find it in the short term
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Rising food costs in Canada have prompted the federal government to demand change from the country’s leading grocers – but an expert in the industry says plans announced from Ottawa this week won’t bring quick relief from high grocery bills.
Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, told BNN Bloomberg on Friday that Ottawa’s measures to bring down food prices will take time to implement.
“For the short-term if you’re looking for help from Ottawa, you’re likely going to be very disappointed,” he said in a television interview.
Charlebois said Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne has taken some steps by pushing grocers to discount items and reforming Canada’s competition laws to create more change. But he argued that the minister could have done more to implement immediate change, for example, by cutting taxes on food items.
“Grocers actually give back to Ottawa anywhere between $300 million to $1 billion in taxes, and that money comes from consumers, so he could have actually helped consumers right away,” Charlebois said.
He also pointed to the sector’s competition challenges that will take time to work through.
“When you actually look at the grocers we have in Canada, these companies are well run, they are well managed,” he said. “They understand competition and they want to squash completion as quickly as possible.”
This oligopoly-type landscape makes it extremely challenging for new players to enter the Canadian market and help with pricing, Charlebois added
“We need a stronger Competition Bureau to oversee some of these issues,” he said.
Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, told BNN Bloomberg on Friday that Ottawa’s measures to bring down food prices will take time to implement.
“For the short-term if you’re looking for help from Ottawa, you’re likely going to be very disappointed,” he said in a television interview.
Charlebois said Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne has taken some steps by pushing grocers to discount items and reforming Canada’s competition laws to create more change. But he argued that the minister could have done more to implement immediate change, for example, by cutting taxes on food items.
“Grocers actually give back to Ottawa anywhere between $300 million to $1 billion in taxes, and that money comes from consumers, so he could have actually helped consumers right away,” Charlebois said.
He also pointed to the sector’s competition challenges that will take time to work through.
“When you actually look at the grocers we have in Canada, these companies are well run, they are well managed,” he said. “They understand competition and they want to squash completion as quickly as possible.”
This oligopoly-type landscape makes it extremely challenging for new players to enter the Canadian market and help with pricing, Charlebois added
“We need a stronger Competition Bureau to oversee some of these issues,” he said.
