NDP wants to change the rules to lower grocery prices

NDP Food Price Inflation critic Alistair MacGregor made the following statement in reaction to Costco and Walmart joining onto a grocery code of conduct:

“Canadians have been trying to keep up with grocery costs for years now. People are getting ripped off when buying groceries because the Liberals and the Conservatives before them set up the rules to work in favour of rich CEOs.

While Walmart and Costco signing onto the grocery code of conduct is a step, it's optional for big grocery CEOs to follow, so there's no guarantee they will follow it. When presented with an option to pursue a mandatory and enforceable grocery code of conduct, the Liberals instead preferred to remain on the sidelines. Canadians deserve real solutions, not half-measures and loopholes.

However, the Liberals always delay change, refuse to work with the provinces and territories and keep giving huge corporate handouts to these grocery CEOs and companies that are gouging Canadians. And the Conservatives only want to stack the deck as high as possible for big business. They both have continued to vote against NDP measures that would force CEOs' hands in lowering costs, like a food price cap and making these CEOs pay their fair share. The Liberals and Conservatives voted against these cost saving measures, while taking donations from big grocery CEOs.

New Democrats want to change rules now to lower food costs for Canadians, and we’re not afraid to stand up to grocery chains to do it."