OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Canadian government, under political pressure to tackle high inflation, said on Thursday the country’s five major grocery chains had made an initial commitment to help stabilise food prices.
Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Canadians would soon see discounts on a number of food products, as well as price freezes and price-matching campaigns.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last month that Canada could impose new taxes on the chains if they did not come up with a convincing plan to limit the rise of food prices.
“Nothing is off the table … This is Day One of a fight that we are fighting on behalf of Canadians,” Champagne told reporters when asked whether tax increases were still possible.
Champagne also said Ottawa would establish a special grocery task force to monitor whether the chains were living up to their commitments to keep food prices under control.
The Liberals are trailing in the polls and facing complaints about the high cost of living and a lack of affordable housing.
The five chains – Metro, Loblaws, Sobeys, Walmart and Costco – represent 80% of the Canadian market.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren. Editing by Jane Merriman)
