Canadian Conservatives Vow To Crack Down On Food Price-Fixing

Canada’s Conservatives are vowing to cut down on price-fixing in grocery stores in Canada  except in the area of supply management, reported The Western Standard.

Supply management is a national agricultural policy framework used in Canada that controls the supply of dairy, poultry, and eggs through production and import controls and pricing mechanisms.

In their election platform released Monday, August 16, the Tories vowed to “respect and defend supply management for our dairy and poultry farms and ensure that farming families are engaged in any trade negotiations or programs impacting the sector.”

They also promised to open new markets for livestock, grain, and oilseed producers in free trade negotiations and within their first 100 days in office, finalize a compensation program for supply-managed processors under the Trans-Pacific trade pact, and the European free trade agreement and negotiate a compensation package for farmers impacted by Canada/US/Mexico (CUSMA) trade deal.

The Conservatives said they will work with the Biden administration to remove the CUSMA limits on Canadian exports of powdered milk to third-party countries and establish reciprocal norms to ensure that our quality standards are respected.

In terms of price-fixing, the Tories said they will work with the provinces to adopt a grocery supply code to deal with retailers’ “abusive pricing and contracting practices against farmers, producers, and processors.”

“Certain grocery retail giants have imposed special fees and fines on suppliers. A code of conduct will guarantee Canadian consumers a reliable, affordable supply of food on their local grocers’ shelves,” said the Conservatives.