All major industry players need to sign on to the grocery code of conduct in order for it to be successful, said Metro Inc. president and CEO Eric La Fleche.
La Fleche told MPs at a House of Commons agriculture committee meeting on stabilizing food prices that Metro is willing to sign the code as it’s currently drafted.
“Our team played a leading role in the development of the code. And we are convinced that the participation of all grocers and suppliers is essential to its success,” he said in French on Monday.
Last week, executives from Walmart Canada and Loblaw Cos. Ltd. told the committee that they can’t sign the code in its current form because they’re concerned it will raise prices for consumers.
On Thursday, federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Quebec Agriculture Minister Andre Lamontagne called on all the major grocers to sign the code.
New research by the Centre for Future Work suggests profits in the Canadian grocery sector will likely exceed $6 billion this year, setting a new record.
The report by the progressive research institute, released and presented to the committee Monday, found food retailers are now earning more than twice as much profit as they did pre-pandemic.
Citing Statistics Canada data, the report said the net income margin on food and beverage retailing has consistently exceeded three per cent of total revenues since mid-2021, more than double the average margin between 2015 and 2019.
The data shows retailers took advantage of the pandemic and its aftermath to increase their profits, Jim Stanford, economist and director of the Centre for Future Work, argued in a news release.
“An industry can’t double its profits, if it is merely passing on higher expenses,” he said.
The major grocers have been under pressure from the government to help stabilize food prices. Earlier this fall, the heads of the five biggest grocery companies were summoned by the government to present their plans.
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