Montreal-based Metro Inc. says it accepted price hikes from some suppliers, notably on soft drinks, because tariffs on aluminum have made cans more expensive.

Metro Chief Executive Officer Eric La Fleche tells reporters in Montreal that tariff-related price increases hit the whole industry and couldn’t be passed on to consumers in every case because of competition. Grocer says it’s monitoring Amazon, the “elephant in the room” when it comes to competition Metro is adding self-checkout cashiers; electronic price tags in some Quebec stores.

It’s looking into a “scan-and-go” pilot project, a technology that has customers use a hand-held device or their own smartphone to scan their goods . E-commerce options cover 60 percent of the Quebec population, service will start in Ontario this year.