Les grandes chaînes d’épicerie mettront en place des mesures de rabais et de gels de prix, selon le ministre de l’Innovation, des Sciences et de l’Industrie.

(Ottawa) The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, has unveiled some of the measures that will be implemented by the five major grocery chains. Consumers can expect discounts on a range of food products, price freezes, and price matching across different banners.

“I looked at some flyers this morning and we can already see grocery stores adjusting before Thanksgiving,” he said. He avoided detailing the action plans provided to him by the five major banners.

When asked why he was announcing something that the major grocery chains are already doing, Minister Champagne defended himself.

“I am saying that these are examples of what we see in their plans because I want competition in the market,” he responded. “I cannot say that I received this from Loblaws, I received this from Metro, I received this from Costco, I received this from Walmart or Sobey’s.”

He added that he had managed to put pressure to stimulate competition in the market.

He also plans to strengthen the powers of the Consumer Bureau, which will investigate practices such as price inflation and downgrading, continue to advocate for a Code of Conduct for the industry, and launch a “food price data hub” to monitor prices in Canada.

The Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, once again hinted at the possibility of more coercive measures. “No measure is excluded, including financial measures like a tax,” she stated.