An NDP MP is calling on Canada’s Competition Bureau to investigate “possible anti-competitive practices” after Loblaw’s move to end its 50 per cent discounts on last-day sale items.
Earlier this week, Loblaw confirmed in an email to Sylvain Charlebois, director of Dalhousie University’s Agri-food Analytics Lab, that the company is “moving toward a more predictable and consistent offering, including more consistency with our competitors” and decreasing the discount on near-expiring items to 30 per cent in its stores.
However, B.C. MP Alistair MacGregor says this move and the statement from the grocery giant “raises suspicions of possible collusion.”
“I wish to draw attention to a concerning aspect highlighted in Loblaw’s statement, indicating that this shift in pricing strategy is in alignment with other major grocery retailers,” McGregor said in his letter to Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell on Tuesday. “Such coordination raises suspicions of possible collusion or anti-competitive business practices within the Canadian grocery retail sector.”
Last October, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne met with the leaders of the five largest grocery chains in Canada and said the companies have agreed to “stabilize food prices.”
MacGregor said Loblaw’s reductions to last-day discounts to match its competitors “raise questions about the industry’s commitment to fostering fair and competitive practices.”
MacGregor called the move from Loblaw “particularly troubling” given the high rate of food price inflation in recent years despite increasing profits.
“This is just another example of grocery retail giants putting their own corporate profit interests above those of Canadians, while many people, especially these days, are hunting for bargains on food,” he said.
MacGregor is calling on the Competition Bureau to conduct a “thorough investigation into the pricing strategies employed by major grocery retailers, with a specific focus on the recent decisions made by Loblaw.”
The Competition Bureau had already completed a grocery market study and released its findings last June. The Bureau found that the grocery giants had been increasing their margins since before the pandemic and said this was an indicator that there is a need for more competition in the sector.
The Competition Bureau confirmed to CTVNews.ca in an email statement it has received MacGregor’s letter, but declined to comment further.
“The Bureau must conduct a thorough review of the facts before reaching any conclusions on potential violations of the Competition Act. The Bureau is also required by law to conduct its work confidentially,” a spokesperson for the Bureau said in an email on Wednesday evening.
With files from CTVNews.ca’s Spencer Van Dyk
