This week, Cowichan-Malahat-Langford NDP MP Alistair MacGregor brought forth a bill in parliament with the aim of providing support to smaller grocers to ramp up competition and lower food prices.
This National Cooperative Food Strategy bill is based on recommendations from the Canadian Competition Bureau to grant smaller grocers more affordable grocery options which would in turn incentivize big-chain CEOs to stop gouging people.
“Everyday families are cutting back on the foods they buy and on the activities their kids love, just to get by,” said MacGregor.
“At the same time, grocery chains have been jacking up costs so their CEOs can pad their pockets.”
MacGregor criticized the Liberals approach, saying they have sat back and watched this happen and subsequently let down Canadians with their inaction.
“People need the cost of their essentials to come down,” continued MacGregor.
“Justin Trudeau and the Liberals have made lots of promises – but haven’t delivered. Then there’s Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives, who’ve been on the side of grocery giants since day one.”
He added that the Conservatives will never talk about grocery greed because their biggest donors are grocery executives.
MacGregor says his focus as the NDP’s food price inflation critic is to increase competition in a way that will force big grocery chains to lower their prices.
The National Cooperative Food Strategy, Bill C-421, was given its first reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday, November 27th.
As of this publication, a date for a second reading has not been set.
