Grocers should be ‘more forthcoming’ on plans to stabilize prices: Champagne
Global News
Canada's industry minister announced this month that major grocers submitted initial plans to the federal government for how they will stabilize prices amid high inflation.
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says he wishes Canadian grocers would be more forthcoming with the public about their plans to stabilize prices.
Earlier this month, Champagne announced that major Canadian grocers – Loblaw, Metro, Empire, Walmart and Costco – submitted initial plans to the federal government for how they will stabilize prices in the face of high inflation.
The Liberal government summoned the heads of the companies to meet in Ottawa last month, demanding that they present such a plan by Thanksgiving or face potential tax measures.
At the announcement on Oct. 5, Champagne said that those plans included discounts, price freezes and price-matching campaigns. He didn’t divulge many details at the time, saying he wanted the grocers to compete with one another.
But in an interview with The Canadian Press on Monday, Champagne said he wishes the grocers were willing to be more open.
“I wish they would be more forthcoming,” Champagne said. “They’ve been outlining to us the kind of things (they) intend to do, but I think they have perhaps historically been different in how they approach the market. They say, ‘We’re going to tell the market when we do it,’ but they are a bit concerned of telling in advance what they’re going to do.”
The Canadian Press reached out to the grocers last week to request more details on their pledges to the federal government. Loblaw and Costco did not respond and Metro declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Walmart said the company promised to continue offering “everyday low prices,” which refers to its strategy of offering low prices on a regular basis, rather than on promotion only.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Sobeys, which is owned by Empire, responded on Friday to say the company isn’t disclosing its plan for competitive reasons.
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc will meet with his counterparts in the U.S. mid-January to advance the talks, Prime Minister Mark Carney's office said in a statement.
The Alberta government says it will go ahead next year with a trial to up the speed limit on some rural divided highways to 120 kilometres per hour.
The family of a 22-year-old Ontario man who went missing at the Mont-Tremblant, Que., ski resort more than 10 months ago are renewing efforts to find him.
Watch the online news edition of Global Okanagan at 5:30 p.m.
The cat first came to the attention of neighbours in the Burnaby building who said the it had been locked on a balcony, in the elements, for about three months.
Regina police disciplined an officer for repeatedly accessing personal data of six citizens without authorization 67 times throughout the course of three years.
The list was chosen based on the scale of the devastation, the number of Canadians affected and the financial toll, with wildfires taking the top spot.
Manitoba RCMP say a fisherman is missing after his side-by-side went through the ice.
The population boom recorded in Nova Scotia since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have come to an end.
New data suggests the majority of Canadians support efforts to expand oil and gas development, including expanding and building pipelines — but within that, their support differs.
Hamilton police say they have arrested 21 people in connection with hundreds of 'organized retail thefts' at multiple Shoppers Drug Mart locations across Ontario, Quebec and B.C.
In October, U.S. President Donald Trump cancelled trade talks with Canada after Ontario aired an anti-tariff ad featuring former U.S. president Ronald Reagan.
Operations are set to resume Friday at the K3 potash mine in Esterhazy, Sask., after a fatal incident earlier this week.