Is it ‘greedflation’? Grocery CEOs to be forced to testify in Ottawa

As grocery prices continue to go up — eating into the budgets of Canadians coast to coast — an MP from British Columbia wants to see the CEOs of the big grocers hauled in front of parliament to explain their record profits.

Consumers have been left holding the bag, trying to absorb the worst food inflation rate in decades, while the companies point to the increasing cost of doing business..

Alistair MacGregor is the NDP critic for food price inflation, part of a parliamentary investigation trying to shine a spotlight on the cost-profit scenario at the big chains.

“There are a number of tools the federal government has at its disposal through the Completion Bureau and the Competition Act, and I don’t want to pre-suppose what conclusions they will arrive at and what the recommendations will be,” the MP for Cowichan-Malahat-Langford told CityNews.

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“But what I think we are doing as a parliamentary committee, which is independent of the government, is that we are responding to our constituents’ concerns, and right now they are juxtaposing record profits from grocery stores with the incredible rise in prices for food, and they are struggling to make choices every week.”

MacGregor says the parliamentary investigation has been hearing from witnesses, but there has been a noticeable absence.

“The people who have been missing in action have been the heads of the big companies. They decided to send their vice presidents in their stead.”

The B.C. MP has been pushing for the presidents and CEOs of the three biggest grocery chains in Canada — Empire, Loblaws, and Metro — to appear before the committee, putting forth a motion Monday summoning them to testify, which was passed unanimously.

Today members of the #AGRI Committee unanimously passed my motion to summon the Presidents and CEOs of the three biggest grocery chains in Canada: Empire, Loblaws, and Metro to answer for their profit-driven inflation of food prices.

— Alistair MacGregor (@AMacGregor4CML) February 14, 2023

“I think there is a crisis in confidence, a crisis in trust, and if I were in their position I think leadership demands that they come and they publicly defend themselves and answer questions from parliamentarians.”

MacGregor says the grocery chains claim to be experiencing the same problems as everyone else in terms of increasing costs and supply chain issues but, despite that, their profits have soared.

“This is happening as so many people are struggling with the cost of food. And I would point out, this not the grocery sector’s first problem. There has been a long list, including the allegations of fixing the price of bread,” he adds.

“At the other end of the spectrum, the reason why so many producers and processors have been asking for a grocery code of conduct is because every time they supply to these big grocery chains, they are hit with hidden fines and fees. Now consumers are feeling the pinch.”

A parallel Competition Bureau investigation is also looking at ways to stimulate competition in the grocery sector, but MacGregor says the study is limited by a lack of resources and mandate.

“They cannot compel the production of papers. Hopefully one of the recommendations as a result of this study will be on the Competition Bureau’s existing powers and whether they need additional resources.”

MacGregor expects the parliamentary committee recommendations to be released this spring.

–With files from Liza Yuzda